In my encounters with students, post-doctoral fellows, and scientists, I have noticed there are roughly two types of responses to a new concept or idea that I convey to them. Some say, “I see what you mean,” while others say, “I hear what you are saying.” Recently, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Ophthalmology (2019 Nov 137: 1317) reported that among our senses, including traditional (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) and extended (balance, pain, and temperature), vision is ranked as having the highest perceived value in life, while hearing ranked the second most important sense. No wonder most people respond to your communication point with “see or hear,” corresponding to a visual or auditory learning style.

For those who are visual-dominant, the Bible invites us and our friends to “come and see” what it is like to follow Jesus (as Philip said to Nathanael in John 1:46). The angel asked the women to “come and see” (witness) the empty tomb of Jesus, the resurrected one (Matthew 28:6). If you are an auditory learner, there are at least 14 instances in the Bible where Jesus states at the end of a parable, “whoever has ears, let them hear.” The same phrase is also noted by the (Holy) Spirit to the churches in the Book of Revelation. Whether we are a visual- or auditory-dominant learner, we are all precious in God’s sight and we have received many gifts by the grace of God.

I believe all we have – all our possessions (material, talents, etc.) – are received from God through grace. God reveals His plan for each of us over time, and also directs our plans to build His church in the ECC community. Over my 33 years of serving at ECC, I have experienced His unimaginable grace and blessings to our community. Focusing on Jesus Christ – and not Paul, Apollo, or anyone else other than Christ – will enable us to persevere through the challenges we face today. In time, lessons learned from the supportive ECC community in facing these challenges will strengthen us to stand against the test of time (1 Corinthians 4). As a community of Christ coming from diverse cultures, educational backgrounds, and traditions, we can focus on the differences, or we can focus on why God brings all of us together to consider many perspectives in uniting us together. Yes, we are one in Christ and committed to allow others to see Christ in us. I often remind myself of the following two important things that involve seeing and hearing in our daily lives: 1) the world and its ideologies are intended to divide us, but our Lord intends to unite us in Christ, and 2) the growth of our in-dwelling temple of God and the Holy Spirit will enable us to allow others to see God in us. In this way, the invisible God becomes visible through Christ who lives within us.
May the Lord bless you with abundant grace.