The Ministry of Listening

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

My grandfather was a veteran of the First World War and fought on the battlefields of Europe. According to my dad, my grandfather never spoke to his wife or either of his sons about any of his experiences during the war. I would venture to say that only those who have experienced the death and destruction of war personally could fully comprehend his silence. The visual pictures and emotions that remained locked in his memories were closely guarded. It was surprising therefore, when one summer he slightly opened the door to one of those memories and let me look inside.

 

I was probably only ten years old and my family had taken a trip back to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents. We decided to visit my Uncle Bob in Kansas as well and take in the Eisenhower Museum. As we toured the museum with my grandfather we saw numerous pictures, documents and weapons of the First and Second World Wars.

 

As we entered one room where larger weapons were displayed, I felt a tug on my arm. It was my grandfather.

 

He said, “Come here. I want to show you what I did in the war.”

 

Curious about what he had to show me I followed. I walked with this elderly patriot across the room where a machine gun was sitting mounted on a tripod. A long chain of bullets hung down from its side.

 

My grandfather pointed at the gun and said, “I ran one of those in the war.”

 

“Really.” I replied.

 

“Yes. Another soldier and I would set it up and strafe as much of the battlefield in front of us as we could, then we would pick it up run 100 yards and do it again.”

 

At the time it was hard for me to imagine my frail grandfather running and carrying this huge machine gun. I’m not sure if I really fathomed the seriousness with which he shared his experience. Neither did I appreciate the importance of the fact that this might well have been the first and only time he had shared anything with anyone concerning the war. I watched as my grandfather examined the weapon with his eyes and then he slowly closed the door to his experiences as we continued on through the museum. He never spoke to me about the war again.

 

I look back on that experience with my grandfather and realize it as a special moment. I will never know the purpose or reason for my grandfather sharing such privileged information with me. Possibly his memories of warfare were brought to the surface in the museum and he needed someone who could be trusted to share them with? Maybe he needed someone who would listen and refrain from asking penetrating questions that might open painful old wounds? I believe there is a lesson here for us as Christians.

 

Scripture instructs us to bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2) When we read this scripture we often take it to mean that we must minister through financial or material assistance. Some of us might also include spiritual counsel or prayer for those who are carrying an overwhelming burden. I might suggest one more possibility, the ministry of listening. Sometimes people simply need someone to listen. In these situations, they don’t need money or food. They quite possibly will reject our counsel and even our offer to pray for or with them. Sometimes all they want is someone to honestly and quietly listen to what they have to share.

 

When we listen to people we show respect. We demonstrate our love and concern by shutting our mouths and opening our ears to hear the pain, the suffering, and the burdens that are on their hearts. This is often hard to do. How often do we develop our response before we have fully listened to those we are listening to? How often do we get impatient with someone who is talking because we want to put in our two cents worth?

 

Jesus gives us a lesson in listening. In Matthew 19 children are brought to Him for Him to talk with, pray for and minister to. The disciples rebuked those who brought them to Jesus. To the disciples, Jesus was too important to be listening to the talk of young children. They felt He needed to be discussing spiritual matters with adults, people who, they thought, had real problems. Jesus harshly chastises the disciples and gives us an object lesson for ministry. No need is too small, no mind so immature, no expression so mundane that it should be ignored by those who desire to follow Jesus and minister to others. Jesus gives us a very important lesson in listening in this passage. He demonstrates His extreme interest in the thoughts and needs of these children and compares them to those who honestly and truthfully seek His kingdom. He shows us that even the most simple and innocent people need to be heard.

 

When I consider how often I overlook and sometimes ignore the needs and sharing of others it is rather humbling. We need to sensitize our hearts and open our ears for those who desire us to listen to them. There may be a good reason that God gave us two ears and only one mouth. If we become a good listener, people will seek us out not only for us to listen, but to share counsel from the Lord and hopefully the gospel with them. Good listening is the foundation that builds trust in relationships.

 

Our Heavenly Father listens to us constantly. There is never a prayer He does not hear or a need He does not address. He is always interested in what we have to say. We need to follow His example and seek to be better attentive empathetic listeners.

 

Psalms 10:17

“You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,”