Mark 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him..
I don’t know about you, but I like simplicity. Many years ago, I was given the task of becoming the church’s graphic designer. I’m no dummy, so the first thing I did was ask for a new computer since I knew what graphic design would require in one. The second thing I did was request that we buy some of the elite Adobe software needed to do graphic design on a professional level. I knew that Microsoft Publisher was not going to get the job done. The only problem was, I didn’t know how to use these design applications. I needed some help, training, and encouragement in the basics of design work.
I went to our local bookstore to find some books that would quickly and efficiently teach me what I needed to know about using the software we had just purchased. This was before YouTube. The books I gravitated towards were simplistic and had easy-to-understand illustrations of how to use the software, as well as the basic elements of graphic design. There were other books I could have purchased, but they were not as simple and intuitive as the ones I eventually chose.
Sometimes the simple messages of Christianity are the easiest. Yes, there is much for us to learn and implement in our lives as we seek to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ. But sometimes we take something simplistic, and we make it hard. Don’t get me wrong, committing to Jesus is hard because of the testing that will come in your life because of it. But when it comes to the path of becoming the Christian I should be, it’s a bit simpler than that.
In our text, Peter, James, and John are on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. In Peter’s confusion and fear, he asks an unnecessary question. However, in response, he gets a clear message. Not just any message, but one message directly from Heaven. In this message, he and the others are given some great yet simplistic advice. First, there was a confirmation of Jesus Christ from His heavenly Father. Then comes the great message. The message is just two words, but these words, if followed, would make a world of difference in their life. The two words are: “Hear Him.”
So, too, if we were to follow the message given to them, it would make all the difference in our Christian walk as well. It’s so simple: just hear Him. But how hard is that for us with all the other voices that come our way? Yet there is only one word that has God’s divine authority behind it. And if we will listen to His words, and put them into practice in our lives, what a difference it will make.
It reminds me of the message of Mary, Jesus’ mother, on the occasion of Jesus’ first miracle, turning the water into the wine. She told the servants, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” That’s good advice for us as well. Do you hunger to be the Christian that God desires for you to be? If so, the path is very simple: follow the message from Heaven, “Hear Him.”
