Beautiful Words Blog | Two Notes In The Ocean by John Moropoulos | Gateway Christian Fellowship

Scripture: John 10:16, 27

As some of you know, my wife and I are spending some time in Hawaii. This is always a wonderful and refreshing time. Except, of course, for those two notes. Nothing messes up a beautiful Hawaiian holiday like an E and F sharp, played relentlessly, in varying volume and intensity, with increasing tempo. The end is near. It won’t be pretty.

If you are older, or maybe just a fan of old movies, you will remember the impact of John Williams’ two-note Jaws theme. It terrified us before we even saw the movie. Standing in line outside the theater, it was played over speakers, so we were hooked (pardon the pun) before the film even started. It genuinely terrified a generation.

The point is simple: music impacts us. How often have we heard the expression, “That song moved me to tears.”? How often have we experienced that and not really known the reason? The reason is that sound goes to a part of our brain that processes things in a wholly different and marvelously complex way than other sensory input.

This is, of course, the logical place for my disclaimer. I am, quite obviously, completely out of my area of expertise. So anything technical that I include here is to be taken cautiously. But from what I glean from the writings of people who do know about it, sound enters our heads and is processed in a way that is profoundly complex and affects us in ways beyond understanding. Which brings me to what Jesus said

on the subject.

Twice in chapter ten of John’s Gospel, we read of Jesus saying, “My sheep hear My voice.” In verse 16 and again in verse 27, He says that, and in both cases He adds, “My sheep follow Me.”

Hearing Jesus’ voice initiates a relationship. He knows us, and we follow Him. Rather than simply telling us what to do, initiating a rigorous life of religious duties, Jesus makes the Christian life both simple and all-consuming. It is simple. Follow Him. As long as we are doing that, we are on track. But it is all-consuming as well. If we are genuinely following Him, our attention must be constantly focused on Him. Any time spent on “doing our own thing” or “finding our own way” raises the possibility of becoming disconnected. It is so much easier to follow Him when we keep Him directly before us.

So, how is this done? It is done through very careful listening. On the Mount of Transfiguration, after Peter had made his “let’s build some things” suggestion, the Father spoke.

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

So that is the essential thing. Our knowledge of His written Word provides the filter by which we separate our own biases and our presumptions about what we think He is saying. The fellowship we share with other followers helps us refine what we have perceived and encourages us to follow wholeheartedly. But the essential is simply this: listen and follow.