Lighting Up Our City: Week 3-Connecting Through Your Story ਨਮੂਨਾ

Have you ever been in the presence of a great listener: not just someone who lets you talk, but who is fully invested in what you’re saying? These people seem to hear what you don’t say; they understand what you can’t put into words. Their very presence feels like a comforting hug.

Jesus was a great listener. Luke 24:13-34 describes His interactions with two men who were walking to a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. It had been an eventful morning, to say the least—Jesus had risen from the dead! However, even though He wasn’t exactly incognito, these men who’d followed Him only days before didn’t recognize Him.

Although Jesus obviously knew what they were discussing, He asked them to tell Him about it. Then He listened. In the telling, the men revealed their thoughts and feelings, their hopes and disappointments. When Jesus finally responded, He addressed the matter of their hearts, systematically explained the truth, and corrected their misunderstandings.

Jesus listened first and spoke after. Even though He knew the information, He allowed the men to express it in their own way.

Sometimes, before we share our story, God calls us to listen to someone else’s. This requires courage, patience, and a lot of prayer. It can be difficult to connect to someone’s pain and anger, to feel what they’re feeling, so we can better empathize and discern how to respond. It may take a lot of time, and our thoughts may be tempted to drift to all the other tasks we have to do.

What are some things we might learn about someone when we listen well?

Before we can use our story effectively, we must prayerfully evaluate the situation. Where is their heart? Do they just need a compassionate, listening ear? Do they need to hear a gently presented alternative perspective? Perhaps they’re most in need of some blunt, hard truth and a good kick-in-the-pants reality check. But we can’t know this unless we listen and pray.

By Jenny Fulton