Kusiyanitsa kwa mawu a munthu kumazindikirika konsekonse. Mnzathu wapamtima kapena wachibale angaimbe foni ndi kulankhula mawu ochepa chabe tisanamudziwe bwinobwino. Kamvekedwe kake, kamvekedwe ka mawu, kamvekedwe ndi kamvekedwe ka mawu komwe kamamveka m'mawu athu, lilime, m'kamwa ndi m'mphuno kuti tipange mawu ndi amodzi monga momwe zilili ndi zala zathu. Pamene khololo Isake anakalamba ndi wakhungu, mwana wake Yakobo anam’nyenga kuganiza kuti anali mwana wake Esau kotero kuti apeze madalitso a mwana woyamba kubadwa. Chinyengocho chinagwira ntchito ngakhale kuti Isake anazindikira kuti “mawuwo ndi mawu a Yakobo,” osati mawu a Esau, amene Yakobo ankati ndiye ( Genesis 27:22 ). Chinsinsi cha kuzindikira mawu ndicho kudziwa bwino. Kulankhulana kwapakamwa kumakulitsa pakapita nthawi mamvekedwe apadera a mawu omwe amasungidwa muubongo pamodzi ndi mawonekedwe athu amunthu wopatsidwa. Yesu, motsatira kaphunzitsidwe ka arabi Achiyuda, anagwiritsira ntchito chowonadi chosavuta chaumunthu chimenechi kuchitira fanizo kufunika kwa ofuna kukhala ophunzira kumvera mawu Ake. Panthaŵi ina Iye analankhula za Iyemwini monga “M’busa Wabwino” ndi awo amene analabadira kwa Iye monga nkhosa mu khola lankhosa:

“Mlonda wa pachipata amtsegulira iye, ndi nkhosa zimva mawu ake; Aitana nkhosa za iye yekha mayina awo, nazitsogolera kunja. Akaturutsa zonse za iye yekha, azitsogolera, ndi nkhosa zimtsata iye, cifukwa zidziwa mau ake. Sizidzatsata mlendo, koma zidzam’thaŵa, chifukwa sizidziwa mawu a alendo.” ( Yohane 10:3-6 ) Mlendoyo adzam’thawa.

M’mbuyomu, tinkamvera zimene tinkaganiza kuti ndi mawu a M’busa Wabwino koma n’kungozindikira kuti zinatikhumudwitsa ndiponso kukhumudwa kuti mawu amene tinkawayankhawo sanali ake, koma mawu a munthu amene akunamizira kumulankhula. Tinasiya kumvera mawuwo ndipo tsopano mawu ena ambiri akutiuza kuti tinali opusa kuti timvere mawuwo poyamba. Kenako amalankhula ndi kunena (motanthauza), “imvani tsopano mawu enieni a Ambuye.” Zili ngati kukhala m’chipinda chachikulu ndipo anthu ambiri amalankhula nafe nthawi imodzi. Mucikozyanyo eeci cakwiinduluka-induluka kwaamba twaambo tujatikizya jwi lya Leza ncobeni. Ngakhale kuti izi zikuwoneka zachilendo m'njira zina, zoona zake n'zakuti sizinakhalepo zosiyana. M'badwo uliwonse wa okhulupirira achikhristu, kuyambira woyamba mpaka pano, uyenera kuthetsa chisokonezo cha mawu. Ndipo sipanakhalepo yankho lina lililonse kuposa kudziŵa bwino mawu a Yesu kotero kuti sitingalakwitse. Timadziwa mawuwo tikamamva.

Mawu a Yesu ndi omveka bwino komanso omveka bwino pa nkhani zofotokoza ubale wathu ndi Mulungu kudzera m’chikhulupiriro komanso zimene iye amafuna kwa ife. Kukhala kwake pakati ndi kudalira kwathu kotheratu pa Iye zafotokozedwa momveka bwino. Tiyenera kuwerenga, kusinkhasinkha ndi kusinkhasinkha mawuwa mosalekeza m'masiku athu onse ndikuwagwiritsa ntchito kusefa zidziwitso zina zonse zomwe zimabwera kwa ife m'njira zosiyanasiyana. Timaloledwa kukhala ndi makutu akumva bwino lomwe liwu la Ambuye mwa Mzimu wokhazikika wa chowonadi ~ Mzimu wa Mulungu ndi Khristu. Mzimu umenewu umagwira ntchito mogwirizana kotheratu ndi Mawu olembedwa a Mulungu. Onse pamodzi amaonetsa chitsanzo chabwino cha choonadi chauzimu chimene iwo amene ali mwa Khristu amachidziwa bwino lomwe chifukwa palibe chimene chimamveka ngati chimenecho. Ndi wapadera kwambiri! Tikadziwa mawuwo, omwe kwenikweni amatanthauza kulabadira mawuwo, sitikhala ndi vuto lotha kuwongolera ndi kutaya “mawu” ena onse amene amafuula kuti ativomereze ndi kuwagonjera.

The uniqueness of a human voice is universally experienced. A close friend or family member may phone and speak but a few words before we know exactly who it is. The unique cadence, pitch, inflection and accent which resonate through our vocal cords, tongue, palate and nasal cavity to produce sound patterns is as singular as are our fingerprints. When the patriarch Isaac was old and blind, his son Jacob deceived him into thinking he was his son Esau in order to secure the blessing of the first-born. The deception worked even though Isaac discerned that “the voice is Jacob’s voice,” and not the voice of Esau, whom Jacob was claiming to be (Genesis 27:22). The key to voice recognition is familiarity. Verbal communication builds up over time the unique sound patterns which are stored in the brain along with our visual identity of a given person. Jesus, following the teaching style of Jewish rabbis, used this simple human reality to illustrate the need for would-be disciples to listen to His voice. On one occasion He spoke of Himself as the “Good Shepherd” and those who responded to Him as sheep in a sheepfold:

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:3-6).

In the past, we listened to what we thought was the Good Shepherd’s voice only to discover to our dismay and disillusionment that the voice we were responding to was not His voice, but rather the voice of someone pretending to speak for Him. We stopped listening to that voice and now many other voices are telling us how foolish we were to have listened to that voice in the first place. They then proceed to speak forth and say (by implication), “hear now the true voice of the Master.” It is like being in a large room with many people speaking to us all at once. It is in this din of verbal dissonance that we are challenged to discern the true voice of the Good Shepherd. While this seems unique in some ways, the reality is that it has never been any different. Every generation of Christian believers, from the first until now, has had to sort out this confusion of voices. And there has never been any other solution than to become so familiar with Jesus’ voice that we cannot mistake it. We know that voice when we hear it.

Jesus’ words are clear and to the point in matters that explain our relationship with God through faith and what He expects from us. His centrality and our total dependence on Him are spelled out in unmistakable terms. We must read, ponder and meditate on those words continually throughout our days and use them to filter all other information that flows to us in various ways. We are enabled to have ears to hear clearly the Master’s voice by the indwelling Spirit of truth ~ the Spirit of God and Christ. This Spirit works in complete harmony with the written Word of God. Together they project a consistent sound pattern of spiritual truth that those who are in Christ know in an unmistakable way because nothing else sounds like it. It is totally unique! Once we know that voice, which means, in practice, to be responding to it, we have little trouble sorting out and discarding all other “voices” that clamor for our acceptance and submission.

R. Frye ©CDMI