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My sheep hear My voice!|
-- JOHN x.19-30.
This is spiritual discernment. We may test our growth in grace by our expertness in detecting the voice of our Lord. It is the skill of the saint to catch |the still small voice| amid all the selfish clamours of the day, and amid the far more subtle callings of the heart. It needs a good ear to catch the voice of the Lord in our sorrows. I think it requires a better ear to discern the voice amid our joys! The twilight helps me to be serious; the noonday glare tends to make me heedless.
|And they follow Me!| Discernment is succeeded by obedience. That is the one condition of becoming a saint -- to follow the immediate call of the Lord. And it is the one condition of becoming an expert listener. Every time I hear the voice, and follow, I sharpen my sense of hearing, and the next time the voice will sound more clear.
|And I give unto them eternal life.| Yes, life is found in the ways of a listening obedience. Every faculty and function will be vitalized when I follow the Lord of life and glory. |In Christ shall all be made alive.|
My Saviour, graciously give me the listening ear! Give me the obedient heart.