Garden of Eden

  • What Are You Listening To?

    Who are you listening to? In today’s world there is a lot of competition to be heard. There are numerous news outlets, hundreds of TV channels and radio stations, millions of websites all demanding our attention, hoping we’ll listen to their version of the story. How do you decide what to listen to? How do you decide who to trust for the news, for the weather, for the Gospel?

    It’s not always easy to discern if what we hear is the truth. It’s been a problem for humanity since the garden of Eden, where Eve listened to the voice of the serpent rather than the voice of God.

    In today’s world there are often two opposing sides to every story on the news. Both sides want you to believe their version of the narrative. We’re often tempted to compare and contrast the two sides, looking for truth. The problem we face in looking for the truth is that too often, we never stop to compare what is said to what God says. We test what is said against our experience, our previous thoughts, our emotions. That was Eve’s trouble. She tested the serpent’s words against her experience, not against God’s Word.

    The worldwide church often fails at this. Too often we define ourselves by who we voted for (or didn’t vote for) in the last election. Too often we define ourselves by our stances on issues that seem to only have two sides.

    The church is not defined by which news channel we watch or listen to. We are not defined by one side or another in the latest political argument. We are defined by Jesus. We are defined by the fact that He died and rose for us and our salvation. We are defined by the reality that we listen to and follow Jesus, the Word of God.

    So when the next issue arises, take a moment to think about what God says about the issue at hand. It might be obvious, but it might not. God’s Word might not say anything about it. But God does speak pretty clearly about spreading false information, about bearing false witness, about gossiping about your neighbors. (Yes, even people who appear on the news are your neighbors.)

    Remember that we are all under the grace of God, and we were all created in the image of God. Remember that God desires that all people are saved and come to a knowledge of the truth—the truth of Jesus.

    God's Blessings on your week.

    Pastor Andy

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LCMS logoFirst Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a family of congregations focused on bringing Christ to the nations and sharing His unconditional saving Love within our community.

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