Selective hearing

A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”  -Luke 9:35 (NIV)

I have been accused of selective hearing. Oh, I know, I know - I don't believe it either. (I also don't snore, by the way!) But yes, my lovely bride regularly "reminds" me of appointments or happenings that she swears she has already told me about, but I have no recollection of. And as if that wasn't enough, she now has our children doing the same thing! So I try to take it in stride: "Fine, just tell me where I'm supposed to be and how much it's going to cost."

Actually, they're not (always) wrong. If I'm not "tuned in" to what's being said, or it isn't (*ahem*) all that important to me, or it doesn't fit with what I think I already know about the topic, I'm likely to discount the message or miss it altogether. And I think I may not be alone in that. Jesus tried on multiple occasions to tell the apostles about his upcoming death, burial, and resurrection. In Matthew 20, He practically laid out an itinerary for the trip they were on.

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"  -Matthew 20:17-19 (NIV)

But they weren't having it. The words that were coming out of Jesus' mouth didn't fit the narrative they had in their minds of what this king and kingdom were to be.They couldn't hear because they wouldn't hear. That got me to thinking. How often do I miss what Jesus is saying to me? I ask to know the will of God, and He may be saying, "How could I possibly make this any more clear? And why should I show you more when you're ignoring what you already know?" 

How do I selectively hear Jesus? I rationalize. I gloss over. I assume that what was written was only symbolic or metaphorical, an example given to illustrate a point, but never intended to be normative. I see the words of Scripture as intentionally exaggerated for effect, or very specifically applicable to a particular cultural or historical context. The commands of Jesus become null and void to me because they don't fit my narrative of who I think He is or who I think I am within His Kingdom.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  -1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV)

Maybe I need to unlearn some of what I think I know. Give the Spirit full access to adjust or discard the things that keep me from hearing. What if I prayed a different prayer? Instead of asking to know God's will ("Just tell me what I'm supposed to do!"), what if I said, "Lord, I want to know YOU. Show me Your truth and give me the courage to accept and obey it." Reckon that would change some outcomes?