2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Open Hearts to a Preacher? - by Don Neuendorf
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholdding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange - I speak as to my children - open wide your hearts also.
This is counter-intuitive for us. We tend to think of public speaking as a logical transaction - like listening to campaign speeches, we expect the speaker to do all the work to persuade us. But in any such situation there is an element of relationship. And Paul says that the relationship between pastor and people should be an open-hearted one.
It's not that we shouldn't listen critically. We always need to "test the spirits" as Paul himself says. And yet, we also need to listen with a willingness to be persuaded - even an eagerness to be moved from where we are. As a pastor, I'm very guilty of having a closed heart when I listen to other pastors. I excuse it as "professional criticism". But I am the loser by it. Whatever of value God might have given me, even through a technically inferior sermon, I surrendered because I focused on the pastor's irritating mannerism or his poor choice of illustration.
I wonder. To whom is your heart closed, and what are you losing because of it?