When I was in infantry training with the Army, we were taught the value of a “listening halt.” You might say, “what is that?” Well, after inserting oneself into a new area, an infantry team will stop, create, and maintain security and just listen for several minutes. Why? To develop a mental picture of what are normal sounds, smells, sights of the location. By doing this, one will be aware if danger is approaching as the change will register.
So, let me ask you, reader… are you
aware of your surroundings? Are you aware
of the spiritual reality that exists?
You may wonder why I ask such a question. Well, it seems as many people in the world
today walk around as if God does not exist.
Oh, they may pay Him lip service and bring their false piety to God as a
token of their love. But their life
shows a disregard for God if not straight out disdain for Him. So many people’s
life live out the third chapter of Romans declaration that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one
seeks for God. All have turned aside;
together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… There is
no fear of God before their eyes.” Yet these person walk around as if this does
not matter, as if, in reality, there is no God.
Yet, if one will
just stop and really listen. If one will
just look with truly impartial eyes, he or she will see that God is all around
them. They will encounter a God who, as
the author of Romans declares, loves in spite of their shortcomings (Romans 5:8) and despite
their condition (Romans 6:23). So, let
us all take time to stop and listen, for it is then we can see the reality of
the fallen world and it is their where we encounter God.