“They will hear my voice.” (John 10:16)
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows his own, and they know him. How wonderful is that? We can know him. He promised: “They will hear my voice” (John 10:16). He didn’t say: “Maybe they will” or “I hope they will.” He just said: “They will.” As often as we sit with him, ask him questions and wait for answers, as often as we quiet the noisiness and busyness of our lives, and give him room to speak, we will hear him.
The truth is, whether we believe it or not, God knows everything about us. The good and the bad, the things we hate to admit, and those we wish weren’t true but can’t quite bring ourselves to admit. God knows it all—and still he loves us!
As true as this statement is, it can also be hard to believe: Jesus really loves us! Equally hard for us is believing Jesus’ promise that we can experience a deep and personal relationship with him and the Father. We can know him in a way that goes beyond what we might normally expect in any human relationship.
Here’s another promise that we might find hard to believe: that we can take on his own mind about life in this world. As we grow closer to him, we can begin to feel the stirrings that move his heart. St. Paul told the believers in Corinth: “We have the mind of Christ,” and he wants to tell us the same thing today (1 Corinthians 2:16). We really can know his thoughts, because he is eager to share them with us. We really can hear him, because he created us for this kind of relationship. He has given us his own Holy Spirit to help us know his love in the deep recesses of our hearts.
Just think: God’s love, his creativity, his inventiveness, his compassion and humor, his wisdom and knowledge, his discernment and understanding—we can begin to taste all of these. The Holy Spirit makes it possible. He opens our minds and hearts to receive all of this simply because God loves us. So go ahead and ask. You will receive. Jesus promises! – WAU
“Jesus, I want to know you as fully as possible. I want to hear your voice and feel your love. Speak to me, Lord. I am listening.”
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows his own, and they know him. How wonderful is that? We can know him. He promised: “They will hear my voice” (John 10:16). He didn’t say: “Maybe they will” or “I hope they will.” He just said: “They will.” As often as we sit with him, ask him questions and wait for answers, as often as we quiet the noisiness and busyness of our lives, and give him room to speak, we will hear him.
The truth is, whether we believe it or not, God knows everything about us. The good and the bad, the things we hate to admit, and those we wish weren’t true but can’t quite bring ourselves to admit. God knows it all—and still he loves us!
As true as this statement is, it can also be hard to believe: Jesus really loves us! Equally hard for us is believing Jesus’ promise that we can experience a deep and personal relationship with him and the Father. We can know him in a way that goes beyond what we might normally expect in any human relationship.
Here’s another promise that we might find hard to believe: that we can take on his own mind about life in this world. As we grow closer to him, we can begin to feel the stirrings that move his heart. St. Paul told the believers in Corinth: “We have the mind of Christ,” and he wants to tell us the same thing today (1 Corinthians 2:16). We really can know his thoughts, because he is eager to share them with us. We really can hear him, because he created us for this kind of relationship. He has given us his own Holy Spirit to help us know his love in the deep recesses of our hearts.
Just think: God’s love, his creativity, his inventiveness, his compassion and humor, his wisdom and knowledge, his discernment and understanding—we can begin to taste all of these. The Holy Spirit makes it possible. He opens our minds and hearts to receive all of this simply because God loves us. So go ahead and ask. You will receive. Jesus promises! – WAU
“Jesus, I want to know you as fully as possible. I want to hear your voice and feel your love. Speak to me, Lord. I am listening.”
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