“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” R. McCloskey

The message was easily read, but not one that we wanted to be seen. It happened sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning. It did not really matter; all we knew was that we needed to do something about it before the children arrived on Monday morning. It came off the doors and glass relatively easily, but the part on the bricks was much tougher. In the end, some tape and black plastic did the trick until we could find another solution.

In case you missed it, we were the victims of some vandalism this past weekend. It came in the form of graffiti. Unfortunately, it was not some misguided street artist, but someone expressing his or her rage. Whenever something like this happens, I always ask myself a few questions like: Why would someone choose to do this? What had happened to this person to cause them such pain? Is Fairview somehow linked to this person’s frustration? Is this a random event? Why do they sell spray paint cans to minors? When will this happen again? No body knows the answers, and it is sad when people become destructive.

Obviously, a message was being communicated, but it was completely one-sided. In the Gospels, Jesus uses words similar to, “he who has ears to hear should listen,” eight times. In one of His parables, Jesus compares our ears to soil. He told about a farmer who scattered seed (a symbol of the Word) in four different types of ground (a symbol of our ears). Some of our ears are like hard road—unreceptive to the seed. Others have ears like rocky soil – we hear the Word but do not allow it to take root. Still others have ears similar to something of a weed patch—too overgrown, too thorny, with too much competition for the seed to have a chance. Then, there are some who have ears like good soil. This soil is fertile, discriminate, and ready to hear God’s voice. In all four cases, the seed and the farmer are the same. The only difference is the person listening. The sad part to me is that if the ratio in the story is significant, three-fourths of the world is not listening to God’s voice. Whether the cause is hard hearts, shallow lives, or anxious minds, 75 percent of us are missing the message. It is not that we do not have ears; it is that we do not use them.

So, I hope the person who shared their rage with us gets some help. We may never know who this person is or if they ever will receive healing. One thing I do know, of all the messages, and of all the persons trying to communicate with me, the one I want to do my very best to hear is God. I know that if I listen to Him (because I trust in His character) that everything else will work out. How long has it been since you had your hearing checked? When God throws seed your way, what is the result?

Thanks for reading!