Do you remember playing 'Telephone' when you were a kid? You and some others would sit in a circle and one person would start the game. They would make up a phrase and then whisper it into the next person's ear. That person would then whisper what they heard into the third person's ear and so on until the last person would then say out loud what they had heard. I don't think I ever heard the correct phrase by the time it got to the end of the line. Words were misheard or garbled in the translation and most often what was finally repeated would be some hilarious mix up.
It is like that sometimes for us as grown ups. Before we are Christians we have no idea who we really are. We make assumptions based on how we feel any given day, how others treat us, even compare ourselves to what we see on TV and in other media. We have a very distorted image of who we are inside and out.
When we come to the realization of who we are in Christ, our views should change. Because the Word of God is truth and it is life.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we become, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 a new creation, old things have passed away, all things become new. 1 Peter 1:9 puts it this way, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession". Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are his workmanship, created in Christ for good works. When we begin to realize these things, we can start to see who we really are. We stop listening to the whispers that tell us we are not worthy, that we are failures, that we are less than; we start listening to the crystal clear words of our Father, who says we are loved, we are the apple of His eye, we are chosen by Him.
We begin a new game of Telephone, if you will. In this round, we see first of all that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. We were talking about this in bible study the other day...what does it mean that He sits in that place? Immediately a picture came into my mind of Jesus leaning over and whispering in the Father's ear. He sits in that place of honor and He has God's ear. He, as it says in Romans 8:34 "is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." He speaks to the Father on our behalf.
So, in this round of Telephone Jesus has God's ear; We have Jesus' ear. He knows all that we go through and He listens to our cries. Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him," 1 John 5:14-15.
So we know that Jesus has God's ear, and that we have Jesus' ear. And how do we come to truly understand this? How do we come to know not only who Jesus and the Father are, but who we are and how to live this beautiful Christian life?
We have to allow the Holy Spirit to have our ear. John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." Jesus also said, "That when He the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth," John 16:13. Jesus said He would send the Spirit to us to be our Helper, Comforter, and Guide. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Greek word translated here “Counselor” means “one who is called alongside” and has the idea of someone who encourages, teaches and exhorts. If we allow the Holy Spirit to have our ear, He will teach us the things of God. He will encourage us through the Word when we are in doubt or discouraged. He will advise us in our daily walk with the Lord. He will help us to run the race victoriously.
How often have you played a game where everything was set up for you to win? When have you ever taken a test where the teacher sat at your side and whispered the correct answer to every question in your ear? I did have a teacher in high school who would occasionally correct an answer during a test, he also chewed on chalk, but that is a story for another time.
But all joking aside, how often have you had all the odds in your favor? When the ref was on your side. When you had all the answers in front of you? Well, here we do. In this amazing life that we were created into, we have the Creator who has given us the answer key. He has given us His Word to lead us daily. He has rigged the game in our favor. No, life really isn't a game, but you understand what I mean. He has set things up so that we cannot lose, as long as we follow His rules. As long as we listen to the truth.
As long as, in this round of Telephone we know that Jesus has God's ear. We have Jesus' ear. The Holy Spirit has our ear. Truth in, and truth out. That is the life I want to live every day, with Him whispering into my ear and into my heart...Child you are chosen, you are loved and you will be victorious.