25“And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.26The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.27And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.28Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,29and they will rise again. Those who have done good will crise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will crise to experience judgment.30I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
I’m not going to get into the theology about the rising from the dead, and when, and who, and who rises when etc. No, what strikes me is that Jesus’ voice is the source of life. “And those who listen will live.”
Where do we hear the voice of Jesus? In the Bible for sure. He is the Word. We also need to listen in the quiet of our life. We hear his voice in trials and the pains, the joys and the victories. We hear him in the calls of others for help: the sick, the hungry, the tired, the imprisoned. We hear him in the love we feel from others, and the need for love that we know someone around us has. His words truly are life, but here on earth, and for all eternity. Listen.
Lord Jesus, help me to hear Your voice. I know I can drown You out in the business of my work. Lord, help me to be quiet, and slow down, and listen. Change me Lord, change me. *obbs*
