I have four children; three of whom are teenagers.  This means that sometimes our house can be a busy, active place.  In this environment details about collection times, after-school activities, and weekend plans can often be missed – even though one person is convinced the others were informed.  Usually these kinds of miscommunications are easily managed: a family calendar is used for scheduling, reminders are given and greater efforts at communication are made by all.  But, in order to ensure a certain message is made clear to the entire family (eg. housekeeping responsibilities) it is not uncommon for me to gather everyone into a room and make a family announcement in the form of a ‘town crier’.  Yes, I do the “Hear ye, Hear ye…” complete with my best attempts at old English to get the point across.

Some messages are important and must be heard.

We live in a society in which people, companies and advertisers are constantly sending us messages.  Through visual displays, roadside signage, TV & radio commercials and ads delivered through the apps and websites we use, companies are sending us messages to sell their brand and lure us into buying their product.  I am usually able to simply tune out, or ignore most of these messages because they aren’t important or relevant to me.

Some messages are not important and do not need my attention.

Some messages are important.  Some messages are not important.  How do I decide what message is important?  That may come down to my frame of mind or concerns of the moment.  But for matters of real significance the determination will likely be based on my core values and who or what I believe.

Western culture is increasingly opposed to the idea that Jesus is even real – let alone the idea that his message is relevant.  When a myriad of messages clamour for my attention, most of them delivering standards which compete with the values of Jesus, it can be challenging to filter out the negative and maintain clarity on what Jesus has said.  In this context, it is even more necessary for those who follow Jesus to remind one another of WHO it is that we believe.

Some messages are important and need to be heard.  Other messages are not important and can simply be ignored.  But the messages delivered and declared by Jesus are of supreme importance and require my utmost care and attention.

“In the past God spoke to us through the Prophets; but in these last days he has spoken through his Son.” (Hb 1.2)