Have You Considered . . .
Ears to Hear
There are times when there is so much to say that it is truly difficult to know where to start if you try to write it yourself. Let me say right from the beginning of this article that I have no intention of trying to write this article myself, as in little human self. Instead I have asked and do continue to truly ask the Holy Spirit to please write this article so that the things that need to be said are said.
God loves us, but He loves us with a love that is far beyond what humans can even begin to understand without the help of God Himself. Often, too often, we as humans try to put God's glorious love into the miniscule box of what we understand as love. Too often we miss the beauty and glory of His love because we ourselves have not acquired true love in ourselves or in our lives.
One thing that I am so very thankful for is that God, from the beginning of my writing for Him, explained to me that I am to never try to "convince" anyone. Either they are able to comprehend the truth that He puts into the writings through Christ, or they aren't. My job is to write what He gives me and the rest is between Him and the reader. For that I am truly thankful.
My column "Carmella's Corner" is written for those who have "ears to hear" as the Lord Jesus mentioned in Matthew 11:15, when He spoke to the multitudes concerning John the Baptist. Scripture tells us in that verse that He said, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And, when He was telling His parables from a ship to the multitudes on the shore, Matthew 13:9 tells us He said, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Also, when He was explaining in Matthew 13:39 through 13:43, about how at "the end of the world" He would "send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire …". Scripture tells us that He then went on to say, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun … Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
There are also accounts of Him using that phrase in Mark 4:9 & 4:23. And in Mark 4:24 He even said, to "take heed what you hear … and unto you that hear shall more be given." Again, in Mark 7:14 through 7:16, when He had called the people unto Him and said, "… Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand: … If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
Then there are other records of His seeking those with ears to hear: Luke 8:8, Luke 14:35, and especially in Revelation when He said, seven times, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches …". The seven verses are found in Revelations 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, and 3:22.
Not once in all those verses did He ever try to "convince" anyone. He simply said what He had to say and stated that if you could understand it, understand it. Now when He was alone, His disciples and "… they that were about Him …" asked for clarification, He gave it. (Mark 4:10-20)
Since I accept Jesus as my example, and He surely did not spend a lot of time trying to "convince" people, neither shall I.
In this column I shall seek to write the things that I feel the Spirit of God would have me write. Anyone that understands it, let him understand it.
I pray that God will always give me that understanding through His Son Jesus Christ.
When Jesus walked this earth in human form, and then in man form, (there is a difference), He always taught about "Life" and not "death". His message was life everlasting. (John 6:47 and many more) Scripture says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Sounds to me like God gave us His Son so we would not have to die.)
He also said, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." (Matthew 16:28; see also Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27) (Have you considered that may mean that there are people in this world today who were in this world when Jesus was here?)
However, this is the scripture I love best concerning this subject in John 8:51 where Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." And then, when His words were repeated by the Jews in John 8:52, it says "… If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death." I love that! Since I believe in the truth of Jesus' words, and since I am not interested in "wrestling" with the Word of God, I believe that says to me that anyone who "truly" keeps the teachings of Jesus Christ shall never die.
So the question may arise, what about that scripture that says that it is appointed for a man to die once? (Hebrews 9:27) Well, as you may well know, that is answered in the very next verse, Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many …" and also in Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, … that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Does this mean that man's appointment with death can be canceled through the glorious gift of our Lord, Jesus Christ?)
Have you ever thought about these things?
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
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