Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

• Judges 20:13

Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom.

• 2 Chronicles 25:20

My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen on me.
And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”

• Jeremiah 25:4-7

And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

• Mark 6:11

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
The Jews who heard these words were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

• John 10:7-20

You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived;
    you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
    everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
    indeed, I cannot.

• Jeremiah 20:7-9

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.  Oh, excuse me, angels have no gender, but the angel indwelled a doll named Bountiful Babs.  After seeing the angel in that form for over a year, I cannot see her in my mind in any other form.

This Week’s Question

In the last episode, Babs kept me from being stuck in a traffic jam behind a multi-vehicle accident on the interstate.  But then, being delayed in our travels, I nearly hit a man who was walking in the road.  But Babs grabbed the steering wheel, and we avoided hitting him.

The next day, I made a sales call about an hour’s drive from the hotel.  We were staying at a central location.  I could then drive to a different mill each day for a sales call in five different nearby towns.

Each day when I return to the hotel, Babs either meets me in the lobby or at the hotel room door.  She is always dressed and ready to go out for an evening meal.  But, this time, she was in her bed (We sleep in separate beds.) with her T-shirt and boxers.  She was ready for bed.  She was crying.

“Babs, what is wrong?  Are you not feeling well?” I asked.

Through her sniffles, she said, “I told people about God’s love today, and some of them didn’t like it.  How can you not like love?  One person said I was guilty of hate speech, and she was going to have me arrested.  So, I came back to the room to wait for the police, but they never showed up.  So, I just got ready for bed.  Harold, I ask for very little, but I need a hug.”

She arose from the bed, and I gave her a hug.  While she softly cried, I held her tight.

When she pulled away, she said, “Oh, dear, I got your shirt wet.  I’ll have to do laundry tomorrow.”

She was going to do laundry tomorrow regardless, and I had enough dress shirts to last the rest of the week.

I asked, “Babs, do you want to have a little Bible study?”

“Yes, Harold, I need to know why these people do not listen.”

I smiled, “Not listening is in the Bible a lot.  Let’s look at Judges 20:13 just as an example.  The people of Benjamin protected their kinfolk, even though the people of Gibeah had raped and killed a Levite’s concubine.  As a result of not granting the rest of Israel the perpetrators of this crime, the tribe of Benjamin was nearly completely wiped out.  The Benjamites knew that a wrong had been done, but they did not listen.  It is basically what the law today calls aiding and abetting; with knowledge of a crime, you help the guilty party.”

Babs asked, “So, people do not like it when you tell them that they have done wrong things?”

I laughed, but just a little.  “Absolutely not, and I can anticipate your next question.  You are about to ask how can you tell them that they are sinners and in need of God’s Grace?”  She nodded with eagerness.  “Well, you have to be subtle at times.  Saying, ‘Sinner, you are going to hell unless you repent’ is not a good conversation starter.  When you look at someone who looks down, it is easy to show compassion, and from that compassion, you can enter into a conversation about why they might be blue.  At some point in the conversation you can tell them that you have made mistakes, too.”

Babs interrupted, “But Harold, I am ‘other living.’  I am not human.  I have never done anything wrong. I have not sinned.”

Note: ‘Other living’ is not human, not animal, and not even plant, but still being.  It would be just before she left me that she would tell me she was my guardian angel.  Thus, no, she had no sin in her life.

I nodded in agreement.  “Oh, but Babs, remember the time you had a wet T-shirt and you showed me more than you intended?”  She protested that was an honest mistake due to not knowing what happened with a wet T-shirt.  But I shook my head.  “You can use that to show your fallibility.  You can use that to make a connection.  That way, for those who are not being honest with themselves, and they think they are really nice people, they can relate.  Those that are honest might admit they had done much worse.  But it is best to steer the conversation that direction and let them admit some small sin, maybe without calling it a sin.  But you can avoid the subject altogether by talking about an emptiness within the person and that God is the only one to adequately fill that void.”

“But the lady, that I was not even talking to, just interrupted the conversation and said horrible things to me.  I was afraid of going to jail.”

I shook my head again.  “There are many places in this fallen, broken world that will arrest you, but not here, not yet.  They might scream that God’s love is hate speech, but the police are not going to arrest you unless you are causing a disturbance.  Knowing you, you were not, and you probably had enough witnesses around you to say that you were not causing the disturbance.  In fact, they would say the other woman was doing that.  Our judicial system is far from perfect, but in this case, you probably did the right thing.  Well, disengaging from the conversation and moving to another location.”

As the tears again flowed, “But why does she not listen to the message of God’s love?  She calls it hate, instead.”

I asked, “In 2 Chronicles 25:20, why does Amaziah not listen?”

Babs answered, “Because God worked in him.  Amaziah had been worshipping false gods, and God wanted to deliver Amaziah into the hands of Jehoash.”

I nodded, “Very good.  Sometimes we enjoy our sinful life, and we choose not to listen.  Remember that Pharoah hardened his own heart through the first few plagues, but then it says that God hardened his heart.  God was not finished yet.  He had to get to the tenth plague, the angel of death.  The Passover Lamb, whose blood caused the angel to pass over the house was a symbol of Christ Jesus who would one day be the blood sacrifice that would save all true Christians.  So, we, by our sinful nature, can refuse to listen, but if God has some particular punishment in mind for this person, then He can cause them to not listen.  But today, God does not punish true Christians.  We might have trials and tests of our faith, but not punishment.  But for the unbelievers there will be punishment in the end.  They listen; they just do not hear God’s voice.”

Babs asked, “What does that mean?”

I replied, “Jeremiah, in many places, but let’s pick chapter 25 and verses four through seven.  Jeremiah tells the people to turn from their evil ways, but he already knows they will not listen to him.  But what does Jesus say in John 10 about being the good shepherd?  His sheep hear His voice.  They listen.  So, when someone does not listen, either they are not a part of His flock or they are not ready to listen.  That same woman might be ready later this week.  Even though she treated you badly, that ill-treatment might be used by the Holy Spirit to make her want to change her mind.  If not, then there is nothing you can do.”

Babs nodded, “When I was taking my shower, I was praying.  I asked God why she did not listen to me.  I heard a voice say, ‘They did not listen to My Son either.’  And I have been sitting in the bed crying ever since then.  So many people, all going the wrong direction.  And they do not listen.  The evidence is there, and they do not see.  And while they are having fun, I am weeping for them.  I know where they are going.”

I again hugged her as the tears kept flowing, or as she would say that she was broken because her eyes were leaking salty water.  “But, Babs, what did Jesus say to the disciples He sent out?  If someone does not welcome you or they reject the message, you are to remove your shoes and shake the dust off.  In that time, the practice was a strong statement, but you do not have to do that in front of them.  Go take your shoes and shake them off, maybe over the bathtub.”

Babs brightened.  She picked up her shoes and went into the bathroom.

When she returned, she said, “I feel a little better.  I feel frightened about talking to people, but we are going to be in this hotel all week.  Harold, I cannot stop talking about Jesus.”

“Babs, Jeremiah felt the same way.  Even though God had warned him what would happen, Jeremiah felt deceived and abandoned.  But even with these perceived injuries, and the real injuries that Jeremiah received, Jeremiah had a fire burning inside him.  The Good News had to burst out.  And for Jeremiah it did.  He complains in Jeremiah 20, but then there are 32 more chapters.  He kept going, and you need to keep going also.  You are so full of love, Babs, that it leaks out every now and then.”

I reached up with my handkerchief and wiped the tears from her cheek.

She giggled and kissed me on the cheek.  “Can we order a pizza?”

I nodded and looked at the advertisement next to the room phone.  “Cheese, pepperoni, or everything.”

She giggled even more, “Everything!  All this eye leaking has made me hungry.”

Credits

And all these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.  But the first half of our married lives, she was trying to figure out what I was talking about.  But after she became a true believer, she was trying to figure out how to become more like Jesus.

But this conversation in particular was all about one particular day when my wife came home after going out to lunch with her friends.  But my wife pulled onto the shoulder of the road to cry and heard a voice say, “They did not listen to My Son either.”

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.