Giving careful consideration to how I listen is a challenge. It’s a little bit like trying to identify how I think, or the way I choose one option over another.
In my lighter moments I think of the old Kung-Fu films I watched as a boy. No matter what else was happening in any given film, there was always a scene in which the young apprentice was left dazed and confused by the wisdom of the Master Teacher. Characteristically, the Master rarely explained himself to the apprentice, he merely waited until the apprentice was ready to hear the deeper pearls of wisdom.
I realise this analogy falls short on a lot of levels but there are similarities in what we’re discussing. How we listen, how we understand the many ways we hear and perceive God, is a tool that will enable us to mature in relationship with God.
The author of Hebrews made a statement that is a little unsettling. He told his readers that what he had to say was hard to explain because they (his readers) had become dull in their understanding (Hb 5.11). He told them they were still in need of someone to teach them the basic elements of the word of God and went on to say they were unacquainted with the word of righteousness (Hb 5.13).
Imagine hearing that! “Young Grasshopper, you are unfamiliar with the Word of God! Because of your dullness, the things you must learn will be hard for you to understand.”
His statement in verse 14 is the one that has captured my attention. “But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice…” (NRSV). The Greek could be literally translated ‘faculties of perception’. Another English version (NAS) translates this by saying, ‘having their senses trained’.
Whichever translation we choose to read, the significance of this phrase reinforces that practice and training are necessary if we are to grow into maturity. If training and practice are required, there is an implication that we may not always discern correctly when it comes to hearing the Word of righteousness. That means there is an element of trying to identify what we sense in our heart and being willing to learn from our mistakes when we don’t get it correct. (A further implication is that those who lead have a responsibility to support, encourage and provide safe structures for people to grow in this.)
But regardless of what anyone else does, it is my obligation to engage in this training of my senses (faculties of perception). I do so, not because I want to be the next Master of the Christian dojo. I do so because I want to grow into maturity and deepen my relationship with the One whom I believe. I do so because I want to be open to any and all the ways he may choose to speak to me.