"Pay attention!" It seems I say it to Little Man all day long! 😀 Recently, we had a "teachable moment" concerning this concept in regard to following instructions. Little Man says he pays attention, but the outcome of his behaviour fairly often betrays him. 😉
God brought to my mind the Scripture in Hebrews 2:1, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
You see, Little Man said he knew what I said. He said he really was paying attention when I gave him bedtime preparation instructions. And you guessed it, when I checked in with him later, he had not "given heed" to what I had said--not even close to "earnest heed"! 😉
In the previous chapter, Hebrews 1:9, the writer of this amazing book of the Bible quoted David in Psalm 45:7, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
Gladness of heart is a result of yieldedness to God. Therefore (this is one reason why), we ought to give the more earnest heed.
"The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." ~ Psalm 25:14. This speaks of intimacy. I want to know the secret of the Lord! He wants me to know Him and His ways. He doesn't want me to simply be a casual observer of His acts (Psalm 103:7).
In the same way I, as a parent, desire to have our Little Man in close fellowship with me. I want to teach him the ways of God that will give him a happy life.
I'm thankful to say that as I shared what "giving the more earnest heed" meant with Little Man, he paid attention. He even asked me to say the verse again after I had explained what it meant. And I gained a greater insight into how God, my Parent, feels when I "give the more earnest heed" to the things He is teaching me. He loves it when we (He and I) are in harmony, just as much as I love it when Little Man and I are in harmony.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander: I want to "give the more earnest heed" to the things God, my dear Father, is teaching me--past, present, and future lessons.
Question to Self:
Am I paying serious attention to the things I already claim I have learned?
Selah.
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard."
~ Hebrews 2:1
"You've just got to learn to pay HEED to things!"
~ Marilla to Anne of Green Gables 😊
