Learning to Listen
Luke 7:39-40 - Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."
Laura could mention my tone, and I would hear an attack. She was drawing attention to the way I had spoken. But correction felt much larger to me than the thing being corrected. I would become defensive instead of listening to what she was trying to tell me. Over time, that changed. I began to listen and understand. Receiving correction became a different posture, something I could make room for instead of immediately protecting myself against. It was a gradual change in the way I heard someone who loved me. I’m grateful for that growth, because there’s a particular freedom in being able to hear that something needs attention without treating the conversation as a threat to who you are.
Simon needs that freedom. He’s privately assessing Jesus and the woman when Jesus addresses him by name. “Simon, I have something to say to you.” The man who thinks he’s examining someone else’s spiritual condition is about to have his own heart examined. But notice, first, the attention Jesus gives to him. He tells a story, asks a question, and walks Simon through what he failed to see. He gives him something true to recognize about the woman and something uncomfortable to face about himself. That is love at work. Simon’s respectability hasn’t made him loving and his knowledge hasn’t make him humble. But Jesus cares enough to address what a pleasant dinner conversation might have left untouched.
We can ask remarkably little of love. Reassure me. Agree with me. Leave this part of my life alone. We may never say “love is love,” but we can still expect the people closest to us to prove their love by withdrawing a concern. Christ offers us more. He forgives what we’ve done and begins changing the way we live. At the cross, He bore our condemnation, which means we no longer have to treat every honest acknowledgment of wrong as though it will destroy our standing with God. We belong to Him, and His Spirit is at work within us.
Of course, Jesus is never mistaken, and the people who correct us sometimes are. Every accusation is not God’s verdict. We can weigh what we hear against Scripture and seek wise counsel. But we don’t have to reject a true concern simply because hearing it is uncomfortable. Think about the difference that makes in an ordinary marriage. A concern can finally be heard. The person speaking doesn’t have to spend the whole conversation reassuring the person listening. There’s room to understand, to apologize, and to grow closer. Jesus loves you too much to keep you as you are. Sometimes His patient work becomes visible in something as ordinary as the way you respond when your spouse mentions your tone. You can receive correction as someone already loved by Christ.
Head: Jesus’ care includes correction, and His indwelling life enables me to respond with humility.
Heart: Where have I been hearing rejection when someone is asking me to pay attention?
Hands: Revisit one concern raised by someone you trust. Invite Jesus to help you receive whatever is true.
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to address what needs to change. Forgive me for protecting myself when I need to listen. I make myself available to You in the conversations where correction feels uncomfortable. Express Your humility through me and help me hear the people You have placed beside me. Amen.”
-PK