My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
This week I am thinking of my parents who have passed away. Their birthdays were two days apart in February, the 21st and 23rd. My brother Pete’s birthday is on the 18th so there was always a big celebration for the three on them in mid February. (As an aside, Dan’s birthday is on the 13th!) One year Pete turned 50, my mother 80 and my father 90, an admirable total of 220 years! The birthday photo my family’s happy faces above three candlelit cakes is a treasure.
I still miss my parents. I miss seeing them in person but what causes a catch in my heart is that I can no longer hear their voices. Living far from New York most of my adult life, I often called them, especially when I was homesick. Their voices kept me connected to the family back east. In my mind I can still hear my mother’s sensible, moderate intonations and my dad’s strong, butchered German-English. What I would give to hear them both again!
The easily recognized voice of a loved one is a special gift from God. I could never confuse Dan’s voice with any other another person’s nor he mine. Like fingerprints, our voices are unique; so is the ability to identify someone’s voice and to differentiate among all the voices we hear. The brain is wired to discern pitch, timbre, inflection, language patterns, as well as individual words, pronunciations and, I believe, personality. There are lots of scientific explanations for human “voice recognition” which are beyond my scope. However, I share one interesting fact. Our whole bodies are involved in our voice: lungs, ears, nose, throat, larynx, throat, vocal chords, etc. Then, when I hear you my brain processes all the input in nanoseconds. “Oh, it’s my friend. Haven’t heard from her in a long time. “ How amazing is that?
Science can describe the how but not the why. It may describe the mechanics or the biology or postulate theories why humans are wired for voice recognition, but it cannot explain the cause other than with more theorizing. The answer is in Genesis 1:27.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
If we’re made in the Creator’s image, it must follow that we share something of what God is like. Thus, if He created us to speak with natural wiring to discern voices on earth, it is because He first wired us to hear His Voice. That He has a Voice and speaks is evident from the Creation verses. God spoke… and creation appeared. He has a Voice which our first parents could actually hear and recognize for right after the fall Adam tries to hide from it.
“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”Genesis 3:10
The consequence of sin was separation from the Holy God which tragically meant man couldn’t approach God directly, see God without fear of perishing or hear His Voice without being shattered. In Exodus 20 as Moses went up to God on Mount Horeb, the terrified people hid from God just as Adam and Eve had hidden themselves. Thunder and lightning, fire and smoke, trumpets and sounds from the heavens consumed the mountain and the people couldn’t bear the weight of God’s Voice. .
“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
In the centuries before Jesus, God’s Voice instilled terror even in the chosen prophets who stood before to Him. Elijah was hidden in the cleft of a rock listening for God in the thunder and the earthquakes, until He heard “a still, small Voice. The psalmists give an indication of Biblical Voice Recognition:
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.…Psalm 29:3-4
On Sunday Pastor spoke about how to hear God’s Voice today because God continually speaks to His children throughout time. However, men have hardened hearts and deaf ears. Jesus testified to the hypocritical Pharisees that He was sent to be God’s Word, His Voice.
And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent.…John 5:37-38
Jesus reconciled us to peace with the Father through His atonement so that we now can hear God’s Voice directly again. Jesus said that His sheep know His Voice and follow Him. But there is a caveat: we have to allow Him to be the Shepherd and choose be in Jesus’ sheepfold, listening to His voice and not to any other. He speaks to us as Shepherd and King and God. We’ll know Jesus’ voice if we belong to Him. Believers, listen for God’s Voice. You are empowered to hear Him, to differentiate God’s Voice through the Holy Spirit. Divine Voice Recognition has been part of God’s plan from the beginning of time.
From The Sheep Pen 