Hear the Voice

Jesus came to earth to proclaim a shattering truth. You are dead. He spoke, not to corpses lying in tombs but to walking, talking, breathing human beings. In Ephesians, Paul elaborates on the words of Jesus, “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

You see, the death God spoke about in the Garden of Eden wasn’t metaphorical. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their spirits died. Sin severed the life-giving communion they experienced with God.

The dead cannot hear.

Yet, Jesus said a time was coming when the dead would hear. In fact, Jesus ushered in that time. The gospel proclaims that Jesus came as the remedy to our devastating problem. He came to bring us life.

God, in his mercy, allows dead people — people dead in their trespasses and sins — to hear the voice of Jesus. And those who hear, those who listen, will live. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” (John 5:21).

So, how do we hear the voice of the Son of God and live?

Hearing requires humility, a readiness to confess sin and repent. Hearing requires belief, an understanding that only Jesus can save. Hearing requires submission, a willingness to follow God’s way rather than our own.

Today, if you choose, you can hear the voice of Jesus and live.

Jesus, I hear your voice calling to me. I repent of my sins and know that only you can save me. Give me life. Teach me to walk in your ways and to experience life-giving communion with you.

Throughout This Day: As you ponder the mystery of Christ’s passion, reflect on the fact that humankind’s greatest act of rejection of God was God’s greatest revelation of his love.