Hearing His Voice #249

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.

Luke 4:28

Jesus infuriated the crowd at the Nazareth synagogue when He began telling them about the tendency of hometowns to reject their own prophets. They had just marveled at His gracious words, and now He was predicting their rejection of Him before they had actually rejected Him. Stories like the one Jesus told about God’s sympathy for loathsome outsiders like Gentiles will do that. They didn’t endear this speaker to His audience. Jesus’ listeners suddenly found Him offensive.

We can assume that a voice that criticizes us, harasses us, makes impatient demands on us, or instills fear or anxiety in us isn’t from God. But His voice might offend us from time to time—or at least stretch us beyond our comfort zones. His perspective will often defy our deeply held assumptions and challenge our biases. We are more shortsighted, narrowly focused, and exclusive than He is. When He speaks, He will frequently give us a bigger vision, a broader focus, and a more inclusive worldview. That can be pretty uncomfortable.

Most perceptive Christians who have encountered God’s voice have then had to rework their religious practices, political views, or social expectations. It’s unreasonable to think that when we hear Him, we’ll remain pretty much unchanged. God doesn’t come into our lives to take our side in human arguments; He comes to establish His will and His ways. If we expect otherwise, we’ll be disappointed and, very possibly, offended.

That’s why many of Christian history’s greatest saints were somewhat offensive to their churches and their peers. They heard God, and what they heard didn’t fit in with their religious culture. In retrospect, God was calling His people to new perspectives, but at the time, His voice simply seemed unfamiliar and therefore unwanted. We hear Him best when we accept that He will offend our sensibilities when He needs to.

Go ahead, Jesus—offend me if You need to. I know how limited my views are. I would be foolish to think my finite mind won’t be stretched by Your infinite truth. Challenge my assumptions whenever, wherever You please.