Hark! the Opened Ear

My beloved friends, what is the very root and spring of all true faith, all enduring obedience? Is it not, I put it to you, the blessed posture of receptive listening? From the ancient prophets to the very lips of our Redeemer, the grand old truth rings out: God's covenant people are those with an "opened ear" – a divine gift enabling us to hear His voice and to obey it without gainsaying. This, dear saints, is the golden thread weaving through all of Scripture, a timeless truth for every soul that longs to follow the Lord.

Look, I pray you, to the Suffering Servant of prophecy – none other than our glorious Lord Jesus Himself! His ear was opened daily by the Sovereign Lord, not to a casual whisper, but to a profound impartation of spiritual perception and moral readiness. He learned to listen with the disciplined attentiveness of a devoted student, setting His face like flint toward God's will, even unto the cross. Unlike a rebellious people whose ears were stopped, His divine ear enabled an unswerving, non-rebellious obedience, even amidst the most profound suffering and humiliation. Oh, what a wellspring of steadfastness this receptivity was!

Centuries later, we behold Mary of Bethany, a luminous reflection of this very pattern. She chose the blessed position at the feet of Jesus, continuously drinking in His Word. This was no mere pleasantry, but a solemn act of formal apprenticeship, a radical declaration of discipleship in humble submission to her authoritative Instructor. While Martha bustled with good intentions, her service, untethered from that vital communion, became a tangled skein of anxiety. Mary understood the "one thing needful": that our doing for God must ever flow from our hearing of God. Our active service, however virtuous, will quickly run dry, my friends, if not replenished daily at the fount of the Master's living Word.

So, let us, beloved, mirror our Saviour's own perfect docility to the Father, now directed towards Jesus, the Incarnate Word. The spiritual grace of an opened ear, once the hallmark of the Servant, finds its living expression in us as we humbly sit, continuously absorbing our Master's voice. This is not about human striving, nor a burdensome ritual, but a joyous surrender to God's generous grace. This continuous, humble listening equips us to navigate life's stormy seas, to endure suffering without rebellion, and to serve others with a love and strength not our own. In receiving the Master's voice, we receive an eternal portion that can never, by God's grace, be taken away. Oh, let us cultivate this opened ear, for there we find our soul's true anchor!

(Source: A modern reflection adopted from the style of Charles Spurgeon)