― C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
I have learned the hard way in this modern day that written words can be easily misunderstood. In emails, text messages, and books we are not able to see the body language or hear the tone of the writer. I have a sarcastic sense of humor that has often been misread in my written messages. I have to put extra effort in punctuation and wording. Another thing I have found to be a challenge is that often times when I am asking a question, even of somebody sitting in front of me, it sounds more like a confident statement. I sound like a "know-it-all".
This morning I was thinking about how one verse in the Bible can be taken different ways because there is no tone heard. It is our own field of experience that forms the filter we hear through. Let's take one verse: Ephesians 5:22. Imagine Paul standing in front of crowd as he slams his fist on the table in front of him and in a deep, loud voice, his eyes cut through the crowd stopping briefly at every female, "Wives, submit to your husbands" he raises his hand gesturing toward heaven with a closed fist, and his voice gets louder, "as to the Lord." I think I would be sneaking across the hall to see who was speaking in the next room, but this is how some of us hear this verse. So what if Paul was standing in a group of people with his hands gently resting on the shoulders of the two women closest to him and in barely a whisper he says the same thing, "Wives, submit yourself to your husbands as to the Lord." A little more inviting isn't it?
One of the things I have been most surprised by in the last year is the gentleness of Jesus. When I really started listening to Him in prayer He always started out with a gentle, "I love you." This was very uncomfortable at first, but I have grown to listen for it now. I don't need to hear it every time I talk with Him, but He still says it and it still makes me smile. As I have grown the filters on my ears (that should be on my mouth) have changed. We can hear God's tone when He talks directly to us and only once in the last year have I heard a tone that told me He was not pleased with me. I had verbally attacked Dave and the Lord said to me, in a very firm tone, "David is mine!" After those words, that got my attention, He gently explained to me why I felt the need to attack. He explained that I did not feel worthy of Dave's friendship, but He had put Dave in my life for a reason and I was to appreciate that and him. I immediately apologized to Dave and our friendship actually grew.
Our closest friends can, most of the time, hear our tone in our emails. They know us well enough to actually hear our voices when reading something we have written. I believe as you grow in Christ He reveals more of an accurate tone when we read His Word. I also believe that when you first pick up a Bible and the enemy feels you slipping from his influence he slams a tainted filter on your ears so the Word does not sound like Love but more like condemnation, too high expectations and an unattainable life.
I don't think it is only the Word that is influenced by our perceptions, but the spiritual world around us. A lot of times when people hear about a spirit they think of some scary movie they saw as a child. God is supernatural. He is spiritual. It is important for us to see that. It is important for us to realize that there is spiritual warfare going on all around us. We meander into church every Sunday thinking things like "I hope I get something out of this message. I hope so-and-so doesn't sit by me." We think about where we will eat afterwards and what we will watch on TV instead of being present in what is really going on around us. That is the enemy distracting us and demons are only allowed into a gathering of believers if they are invited.
Church is not a building. Church is us. We used to meet in homes and other available places and I wonder if the church buildings exist today for non believers. It opens a larger door for them to walk into a public place instead of the confines of a believers living room.
I have heard of people who see angels, though I have not been blessed to do so knowingly. I have seen demons. I have seen them as a dark haze and I have seen them as real faces. I have had enough of a glimpse into the spiritual world to believe in it without any doubt. I know and I believe we all need to know.
What if this Sunday morning you see walking into church in a new light? His light. We are the sons and daughters of The King. What if we looked at it more as a gathering of royalty. Imagine with me what I believe to be true. We pull into the parking lot at church and a small team of angels run to our car to escort us safely inside. They are not cute little cherub angels, but 7 feet tall dressed in white and armor? On either side of the door of the church are posted Angels standing at attention. They are there to keep uninvited demonic guests from passing through the doors. We are busy straightening our clothes and wiping the noses of our babies not even aware of their presence. Inside the door are two lines of angels with swords drawn over our heads as we enter the sanctuary. What if as the pastor stands visiting with friends there are seven angels forming a have circle behind him with the points of their swords joined above his head? They move only when he moves.
Then the unbeliever arrives with his band of demons and it only takes a look from the angel at the door and those the unbeliever is not hanging onto scurry away, afraid to pass through the door. As they should be. As the unbeliever hesitates the demons start talking to him, but the angels are threatening those demons. There are times when I have passed through the door of the church and felt like I was safe. I was in a place where nothing evil could touch me. There have been other times when I have walked in knowing the demons were not only with but working over time to get me to leave or at the very least not listen. Because of this, when I sit in church now I pray for the demons, all demons, mouths to be duct taped, their hands bound and the angels to boot them out the door. I pray that all ears are opened, demonic filters removed and that the Holy Spirit's presence is felt by each person in attendance at this meeting of royalty. I pray for eyes to be opened, that the pastor feels the presence of God, and that the message he speaks touches lives and plants seeds. I believe the pastor's message can be heard differently by all those in attendance and I pray that each person hears what God intends them to hear. Some times I am so immersed in praying for the people in the room that I have learned to watch the sermon again online to hear anything I may have missed.
As we are escorted back to our cars it is like the dispatching of many ministers. We are sent out with our own ministries. We each have our own schedule of meetings with lives to be touched. We are called. The words we say help shape the filters on unbeliever's ears. They help shade the glasses others see through. Are we cleaning glasses or whispering lies into vulnerable ears? Our words, our tone, our body language is a way to pass out hope to the hurting, encouragement to the broken and direction to the lost.
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
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