Author: Victor Scott

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, husband, father, and author. I am an avid Cubs fan and a lover of Chicago-style Deep Dish pizza.

What if they DON’T have ears to hear?

When Life and Love Intersect

I came across this article on The Mars Hill Blog1 about a community group that reaches out to the deaf community in the Seattle area. As I read the post and watched the videos I was moved to tears because the whole time I kept “hearing” this phrase in my mind:

If you have ears to hear…

This is a common phrase used by Jesus to challenge the people who were not receiving His message. Jesus was pushing further into their assumptions exposing their tendency to follow the path of least resistance. This danger of complacency in the face of a difficult ministry may be part of the reason that so many people are satisfied with attendance rather engagement. What this article did was to expose my tendency to think in ways that are far too narrow when it comes to who has access to the message of Jesus. It is easy to think that everybody is able to hear and understand the gospel message when it is presented.

Some of the statistics that were offered about the number of hearing impaired individuals that have not “heard” the Gospel is stunning and to the church’s shame. The following information was given regarding the hearing-impaired demographic.

According to multiple Christian Deaf ministries organizations, approximately 2 percent of the deaf population call themselves Christians, Cheslik said. Only 7 to 9 percent will ever be exposed to the gospel in ASL. [Ed. About 1 million people in the U.S. are deaf, and another 10 million are hard of hearing. About three-quarters of the total U.S. population identifies as Christian in some form.]

Confronted with my own Biases

I have been challenged on two fronts. One is the theological front and the other is practical.

Theologically, there are two observation about the reality that Jesus is communicating is that “having ears to hear” is exclusively a heart issue. The one who has the message, the Christian, must make every effort to bridge the gap between the message to be shared and the heart to be touched. What cannot be done is to risk diluting the Gospel’s message by over-simplifying important concepts or leaving the out all together. The theological work of making sure that we know what we are communicating is of first importance.

Connected to this first observation is the one that is more personal. It just never occurred to me that a physiological problem could be a road block to someone hearing the Gospel. I was/am so convicted by this short-coming in my understanding.

The second front that was confronted is of a practical nature. As a church, both local and catholic, what are we doing to reach into those sub-cultures that either have an obstacle that needs to be over come (either on our side or theirs) or a hindrance that cannot be over? The call of the Gospel and the command to love, both friend and enemy, means being proactive in our approaches and strategies. We cannot get stuck in paradigms that worked some time ago, but do not really address the present and potential future needs.

The Nature of Faith

The nature of faith is always to be looking forward. Too often the church has found herself reminiscing about a by-gone era. Hoping and wishing for a return of “the good ol’ days” will not put us in a position to envision of future filled with God’s will.

Vision, the kind of vision that the Bible advocates, is always looking forward in to the future and slightly above what is happening right now.

Vision looks forward because we have to learn to live and play the game of life anticipating what is coming down the road. It has to look slightly above because we cannot get caught up in what is going on. Our sights are set on God and his eternal promises. Promises that call us forward and call is higher than our present situation.

Source: Living Out the Gospel without Words: The Story of a Deaf Community Group [Link no longer Working]

  1. This blog is no longer active [↩]

Word to the Wise | “Walking in the Light”

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7)

This is a very significant verse of Scripture.  John gives two basic principles in this passage.  First, he tells us that the Christian needs to walk in the light as He (God) is in the light.  John does not say that Christians can or should live according to the light.  That would mean that we could be sinless and we all know this is impossible.  The Apostle says, instead, to “walk in the light.”  This is a reference to our submission to God’s truth.  God is truth (light) and the evidence that we are walking in the light is determined by our reception of God’s truth.

The second principle is that we “have fellowship with one another.”  Most of the time this phrase is interpreted to mean that we have fellowship with fellow Christians.  But this is not what John is saying at all.  The fellowship John is speaking of is between the Christian and God.  Allow me a paraphrase.

Since God is light (truth) and if we become transparent enough to accept God’s truth (His light), then we can have fellowship with God because we will both be connected through the light of His truth.

It is this fellowship with God in the truth that makes the third clause of the passage even more powerful: “He purifies us from all sin.”  What a blessing to be in God’s presence and feel cleansed of all sin simply because we accept His truth and walk in His light! Amen.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/20/09)

Word to the Wise | “Grace vs. Legalism”

If we consider all the religions in the world we will find that they will all fall into one of two camps.  They are either based on legalism or on grace.  There are only two options. Either salvation is man made—legalism.  Or salvation is God made—grace.

A legalist believes he is the supreme force of salvation.  He would say that if he looks right, speaks right, acts right, and belongs to the right group he will be saved.  That is, the legalist believes that he can erase enough sin in his life to earn access to the perfect heaven of God.  When you look or listen closely you find that legalists are missing one thing: JOY.  The reason for their lack of JOY is that they are driven by FEAR, ARROGANCE, or a sense of FAILURE.  FEAR—they cannot do enough; ARROGANCE—they are the arbiters of how much they should do; FAILURE—they may have made an irreparable mistake.

Grace says: My salvation is based on God’s work through Christ and I rejoice because God loves me in spite of my flaws and not because I have to get rid of them.  There is peace and comfort in this knowledge.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/19/09)

Word to the Wise | “The Gift”

If we trace the path Jesus took on His earthly journey we can find some disturbing facts.  He traded His heavenly glory for earthly poverty.  Although He created the universe, He was born in a stinking stable only suitable to shelter animals.  He owned all the wealth in the world, but had to depend on men’s offerings and goodwill to support His ministry.  At times He was so hungry that He had to eat raw grain or pick His own fruit from a tree.  He was ridiculed.  His neighbors tried to lynch Him.  Some called Him a lunatic and a friend of sinners.

He was falsely accused of crimes He never committed.  The witnesses at His trial were paid to lie against Him.  The jury was rigged and the judge responsible to dispense justice handed down a death sentence solely based on political calculations.  They killed Him.  And why did they do it?  Because they chose to reject the gift only He could give—the gift of life.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/18/09)

Word to the Wise | “Patience”

Have you ever become impatient over a life situation you believe you should have mastered by now?  It is very frustrating.  How do we learn to be patient?  There are two basic ways.

The first way is to go through a lot of trials ourselves until we learn the lessons that produce patience.  Or, second, we can learn patience by observing other people going through their trials.

Suggestion: Learn patience with other people’s mistakes.  It is less costly.

Three thoughts come to mind.  (1) Learn to “cast all your cares upon the Lord and He will carry them for you.”  (2) Practice “trusting in the Lord in all your ways and He will guide you to your destination.”  (3) Practice “waiting on Him and he will never disappoint you.”

Even an intolerable situation becomes a welcomed learning event when we depend on His love and grace.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/17/09)

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