Can I Hear You Now? — George Estes

The cell phone commercial made a household phrase of the question, “Can you hear me now?”   But the more important question for those desiring to share their faith with persons who are not yet disciples of Jesus puts the matter the other way around. Not, “Can you hear me now,” but “Can I hear you now?”  In other words, how well are we listening? 

Often there is a concern, when the topic is evangelism, about what we’re going to say.  As important as that is, maybe the more fundamental issue is how effectively we’re listening. People provide us with clues as to their spiritual concerns in fairly ordinary conversation. But we may not be tuned in to them.

Recently I got a hearing aid in the hope of not only being able to hear better, but also to listen better.  In fact, sometimes I have wondered if my hearing problem isn’t more that of being ‘hard of listening’ than a little hard of hearing. I’ve noticed that when I’m really paying attention to someone, I have much less trouble hearing what he or she is saying. On the other hand, when I’m distracted or preoccupied, I tend to miss what’s being said. Sometimes, too, in conversations it’s possible to concentrate so much on what I have to say that I don’t grasp as fully what the other person is saying.

To be a caring Christian friend in a faith-sharing situation means listening as much as speaking. Is the person expressing concern for a loved one, commenting about worries at work, struggling with a strained relationship in the neighborhood, pondering the suffering of victims of natural disasters?  Folks may not come right out and ask us what faith in Jesus means to us in these times, but if we are able to listen carefully, they may open the door for a conversation that will allow us to be an instrument of God’s welcoming grace.