Deafness

Just lately I’ve been suffering again from a wretched condition which leaves my ears blocked and me with most of my hearing gone until I can get to an expert who will unblock them again and restore me to what I was before. Thankfully this should be soon!

It is a strange business, going around with this hearing loss. It means I can sympathise with those who are chronically hard of hearing. The difference is that their problem may be permanent and may deteriorate over time.

At first it was infuriating to have this unwelcome issue returning. I was very aware of it and felt as though I had to apologise to everyone for it. I’ve just spent a week at a big Christian conference and felt the need to keep changing my place in the auditorium, going to where I could best hear the speakers. Speech would sound muffled while music would absolutely assault the “good” ear – the one which managed to pick up more sound. It would come across as shrill, piercing, painful even.

Yet by now, in a strange way, I have grown used to the handicap. I just accept the distortion of the sound around me. In other words, I put up with something that falls far short of the level of hearing I normally enjoy, which they say is fine for my age.

Spiritually most people have rejected the call of Christ so often they have become deaf to it. They tune it out, as we say. And just like me with my physical hearing, they put up with their hearing loss quite readily, not even conscious that it it is there!

It is a tragedy. The prophet Isaiah laments in the Bible:

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Make the heart of this people dull,

and their ears heavy,

and blind their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:8-10 ESV)

The meaning of this startling sounding passage is not that God deliberately wants to make His people unreceptive to His message. It is rather that He is determined to carry on speaking to them regardless of the reception they give His prophet. If they persist in their attitude, they will be unresponsive and therefore gain no benefit.

God forbid that any of us should resolve to tune out the message of a living Saviour who loves us enough to die for our sin and to rise again. Never could there be a more tragic example of someone looking a gift horse in the mouth.