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The rule

Lena Bergen Friesen

After welcoming 40 Grade 2 children to my Vacation Bible school classroom, I told them about “the rule”. “If Jesus was your teacher,” I said, “He would only have one rule. Do you want to know what it would be?”

“Yes,” they chorused.

I told them, “Jesus said to the people He taught, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear,’ or listen. This will be our one rule too. The other part of the rule is to obey. Jesus said that the one who does what He says is a wise person.” I then discussed the fact that listening is important for learning, and that God has given us two ears and only one mouth so we’ll listen more than talk.

The children nodded and agreed that this was a good rule for our class. It was amazing how quiet the room became and how well the children listened during lesson time. Each morning, we reviewed the rule. Their eyes glowed eagerly when I would say, “He who has ears to hear”, and they would answer, “Listen”.

Near the end of the week, I decided to give them a quiz. They surprised me with their answers. They had remembered details and had absorbed the stories like sponges. It was proof that they had listened.

One morning the next week, as I was preparing for the day, my thoughts were racing. “There is so much to do today, how will I ever get it all done?” I fumed. The Lord spoke to me in a gentle voice, “You are not putting into practice what you taught the children last week. You are worrying and not listening to Me.” It was true. As I calmed down and listened, the song humming in my mind was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. With all the voices around us clamouring for our attention, we sometimes miss the voice of the Shepherd.

Lena Bergen Friesen lives in Waterloo, Ont.

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Last modified January 30, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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