NOVEMBER 16, John 10:27

“Where’s Molly, Grandpa?” asked Dan. “I want to play with her.” Dan had just come to spend a week with Grandpa, and he loved to play with Grandpa’s big brown and white collie. In reply, Grandpa took a whistle from his pocket, put it to his mouth and blew it. “It doesn’t make any sound,” said Dan. “It must be broken.” But Molly came running from the park. Grandpa laughed. “No, the whistle is not broken. It emits a high- pitched sound that can’t be heard by human ears, but a dog can hear it plainly,” he explained. “Molly’s been trained to respond to the sound of the whistle.”

Dan and Molly raced back to the park. Then Dan threw a stick for Molly to fetch. She brought it back and waited eagerly for him to throw it again. Grandpa sat on the bench and watched. When Dan was tired, he went to sit beside Grandpa, and Molly lay down nearby.

“May I play with your whistle, Grandpa?” Dan asked.

“No, Dan.” Grandpa shook his head. “It’s not a toy. We use it only when we want Molly to respond. It gets her attention every time.” He paused, and then added, “While I was watching you and Molly play, I was thinking of some of the ways God calls us when He wants our attention.”

“But God doesn’t have a whistle,” said Dan, with a laugh. Grandpa smiled. “No,” he said, “but sometimes He speaks to us loudly through our parents, teachers, and pastors. Sometimes He speaks through the Bible as we read it or listen to it being read. And sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks silently through our consciences and minds.”

“And we’re the only ones who hear Him, aren’t we?” Dan asked, remembering how his classmates in his music band could not understand why he went to church on Sundays, even when there was a practice scheduled. “That’s right,” agreed Grandpa. “Only God’s children can hear and understand what He says to them.”

Dan scratched Molly’s ears. “I’ll try to answer as quickly when God ‘whistles’ for me, as you do when someone whistles for you,” he told her.

Thought: Are you a hearer and doer of God’s Word?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please teach me to be sensitive to Thy Word. I know that sometimes, You may speak to me through my parents or Sunday School teacher. Help me to pay attention, and to heed Your call. It is the only way to be truly happy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.