Afternoon Thought

There are times I "hear" my own thought and when this happens I then "listen" to my thought. What I mean is there are times I know a thought has not originated with me but it is in me. Some would say the "small quite voice inside me" is talking or something like that.

Truth is, each of us have this experience often but what it boils down to is a choice to "hear" a choice to "listen".

At some point this past week I either read or heard about an elderly Asian gentleman walking with his twenty something grandson on a very noisy street. The two were walking along this major thoroughfare passing people engaged in life. Automobiles, sirens, people talking, shouting, babies crying, a type setting each of us have experienced.

As the two walked along the grandfather suddenly stopped and began to look all around. The grandson paused in his steps, turned toward his searching grandfather who exclaimed to his grandson, "I hear a cricket!"

For a moment or two the grandson just stared at his grandfather in total disbelief. He then replied what most of us would have I quite imagine, "I can barely hear you above all this noise but did you just say that you heard a cricket?"

The old man responded with a confident nod and an equally confident, "Yes."

The grandfather backtracked a few steps and turned up an alley the two had just passed. He began to turn over cardboard boxes, lift up papers, looking for the cricket. While doing this the grandson was following, wearing on his face a grin that was more of a smirk. After walking a good ways into the alley, the grandfather came upon a medium size tin can and with the toe of his shoe pushed it aside.

There fully exposed was a small cricket! The smiling grandfather bent down and caught the cricket in his hands and held it to his grandson who just laughed out loud. Placing the cricket back on the pavement, the grandfather walked back toward the street again followed by his now amazed grandson.

The two resumed their trek on the major street. They had not gotten far when the grandson touched the old man's arm stopping him and said, "Grandfather", tell me, how is it that you heard that cricket above all the noise but no one else did, including me?"

The grandfather took the younger’s arm with his right hand while holding out his left arm toward the grandson with his left hand extended palm up and said, "Give me some coins."

The grandson looked puzzled as he reach into his pocket for a all the change he had and placed it his grandfather's palm. At this the old man took a few steps forward and motion for the younger to follow him. After a few more steps the old man took the coins and tossed them high up into the air letting them all fall to the sidewalk.

All those in close proximity quickly stopped, turned toward the sound of the coins, and looked down for them.

The young man without understanding looked at his grandfather who said to the stunned Youngman,

"Grandson, the reason you and all these others did not hear the cricket is because you only will hear and respond to what you have trained your ears to listen for."

Very often the small voice is speaking but our heart and our attention is set on something or someone else.

Anyway, my thought was this afternoon: "It is not so important to lead people into church as much as it is important to lead people into the Kingdom."