"To Obey" by John Chuchman

To Obey
The word Obedience
comes from the root audire
to hear.


Obedience,
in its essence,
is Listening followed by Acting Free!
(not simply doing what another tells me).


Jesus,
time and again,
is quoted as
calling us to Listen.


It seems there are a number of areas
in my life
to which I must be tuned in.

I try to listen to
the wild word of God
as presented in Scripture,
hoping it warms my heart
and pierces it
with Love.


I try to listen to
Church,
as defined in Vatican II
as We, the Body of Christ,
men and women of all denominations and faiths
whose judgment I respect.


I try to listen to
Unbelievers,
who speak their Truth,
knowing I can learn from them,
also Children of God.

I try to listen to
the signs of the times,
the voice of social change
in society,
knowing human experience to be
the very stuff of Spirituality.


I try to listen to
Children, The Handicapped, The Sick,
The Dying, The Bereaved, The Aged
by tapping in to their
directness and simplicity
which offer a special access
to Truth.


I try to listen to
The Word of God in My Heart,
guided by conscience,
motivated by the promptings of
the Holy Spirit.

Simply doing as I am told
by whatever authority,
without Listening
to all possible sources of Wisdom,
is spiritual death.


I can
live and act with Wisdom
only
if I heed the call of Jesus
to
Listen.
http://poetmanjohn@cox.net/