Learning to listen

What does it mean to walk with Jesus? Is it primarily about living a "good" life? Is it that we don't drink, or smoke, or cuss? We dont watch TV, or go to movies? Is His main goal to help us clean up our act? Or is there more to it all? What is His purpose in drawing us to Himself? Did He reach down and open the eyes of my heart simply to get me to "behave properly"? I don't think so. He calls us to obey Him, but why? The scripture tells us that God is love. Everything He is and does flows from that reality. I think He has first and foremost called us to be His children and His friends. As we live in those relationships, we will naturally walk in greater and deeper purity, but that is not the main focus. Religion focuses on behavior. Religion focuses on being good, so that God will like us. Relationship wants to know Him more deeply, more intimately because He likes us. Relationship wants to interact with Him on a daily basis. If He is my friend, I want to learn to recognize His presence with me through as much of my day as possible. I want to see what He is doing... and I want to join in. I want to let Him show me what He cares about, and what sorts of things He wants to do together as we go about our way. Jesus went around sharing and showing the love of His Father each day. He wants to do the same today. He wants to do it together with me. And you. What an amazing idea. Usually we think that this is for someone else. The pastor, the missionary, that really spiritual woman we know from church. But not me. I am just... me. God couldn't really be interested in having that sort of relationship with someone like me. I'm ordinary. I am just kind of "getting by" spiritually. I am trying to be good, and hopefully make it to heaven some day. But,in the meantime, I will sort of sit in the bleachers and watch the superstars do the kingdom stuff. What a waste. Every one of us is called to be a unique expression of Jesus in the world. The Spirit of God lives inside of us, if we truly know Him. And He wants every one of us to get to know him more deeply and fully. He wants every one of us to learn what it means to walk through our day listening for His voice and following His lead. Every one of us. We won't all stand up on stages and preach eloquent sermons, but we can all be the voice and hands of the Lord; we can all be the body of Christ. Individually, and all together, He desires for us to be His body. Why does He need a body? What is a body for? Its that thing we walk around and do life in. Its how we get to work and school and home and wherever we go. Its the thing we use to interact with co-workers, and friends and family. He wants us to be His body. He wants us to be the vehicle He uses to express Himself in the world. We can all be used to show His love to the people around us. We just have to ask. We just have to listen. We just have to quiet our hearts and our busy lives, and take time to learn to recognize His voice. If we will do that, He will draw us into a friendship with Him beyond our wildest dreams. He will do things with us and through us that we cant even imagine today. He will make our lives an adventure.

The question is... will we take time to listen?