F-ear Plugs

The two most commonly repeated things said by Jesus in the New Testament are:

1. "Those who have ears to hear, let them hear" 15 times
2. "Don't be afraid" (or some variant of "don't be afraid") 21 times

We struggle with fear and we struggle with having the right ears to hear.

Our natural world is constantly talking to our natural senses. We touch physical things. We eat physical food. We see. We hear. There's natural cause and effect. We do, and therefore we receive. We work and therefore we earn. It's predictable to our understanding. It's feels safe to us only because it's familiar. We've been trained in it our entire lives.

But Truth is different than natural knowledge.You can't hear it with your natural mind. It requires a different kind of ear and it's unfamiliar to us until we're trained in it. When we hear the truth, it forces our minds to shift from the natural order of the world. The order of getting what we deserve for our actions. The order of "karma", you could say. The order of action and reaction.

When we hear the truth, it forces our mind to switch to the place of the new ear... The place that allows us to accept the truth of Christ. The truth that we are getting a love that we never deserved. That place is unfamiliar. Getting what we can't earn is altogether contrary to our earthly experience. It's new. And when we start living with the new ear, it's inevitable that the old ears will fight for control.

Fear is the tool of the old ear. The truth rings in the old ear. The truth is dissonance to our natural mind. When the old, "earning it", ear hears the Truth of God's unmerited love and forgiveness, it fights back with fear. Fear that you haven't done enough. Fear that your trust in Jesus will bring empty results. Fear that your mistakes are still bringing their penalty. Fear that the new ear is hearing lies. That God doesn't love you. That protection, healing, answered prayers, and real relationship are figments of our imagination.

The old ear fights our new ears with lies from our past. But if you have ears to hear, go ahead and hear the words of Jesus. Don't be afraid. And if you have ears to hear, hear it again. Don't be afraid. Take out the fear plugs and start hearing again.