John 10: 26-27
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
We've all played Operator before. A phrase that starts out as, "Judy loves mom's spaghetti sauce!" becomes "Did you see Tom's veggie drawers?" Usually the final phrase comes out like complete nonsense, but that's what makes the game fun!
When we share our faith I feel like we get a lot of "Tom's veggie drawers." Sometimes we literally respond, "But that's not what I said!" What is it that happens between your lips and his or her ears that keeps someone from receiving a message the way you intended? Jesus gives us the answer here in the Gospel of John. If His sheep know and hear His voice, then those who do not follow Him do not. If you don't know what the truth is, then you don't know it when you hear it. Yeah, it sounds obvious, but it's awfully hard to see in a real life situation.
The Holy Spirit can and does cut through the noise and act like a translator and even better, we can cooperate with the Spirit by shortening the wavelength. If that game of Operator had only one person between the original message and the final speaker, chances are the right phrase would be repeated. The world is loud. Very, very loud. The good news is that we don't have to be louder. We just have to speak with clarity and love on a personal level. And sometimes not speaking at all and just praying is the best way to get our message across.
Don't discount those relationships with friends, family or co-workers who don't believe. They are more valuable than you can imagine. Every time you lend an ear to listen or do a good deed, you're shortening the distance between your heart and theirs and that can help the message of the Gospel come across loud and clear.
