How Can They Hear?

Jesus dealt with people who just simply refuse to open their hearts to believe His truth.  And, even 
today, He is intent on getting His message across. In Matthew 13, He says:
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'
16 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear...

Jesus wants us to see and hear His truth - even those who are impaired physically can "see" and "hear" spiritually.  And, unfortunately, even those who have perfectly good eyesight can be blinded spiritually or those who can hear well refuse to hear the truth of God's Word.  His Word can be so easily drowned out by the voices of this world, the philosophies that contradict His teaching.  That is why we need to pray for souls and be faithful to live out our lives for Him, so that He can speak, even through us.

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In Romans 10, Paul writes about salvation in Christ, how it is received, and the spread of the gospel 
message. He says:
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

This is the day that has been set aside to commemorate the landing of Columbus in the Western Hemisphere in 1492.  Columbus has emerged as a rather controversial figure, but he is not alone in the realm of historical figures who face erasure from being honored for their accomplishments.  Columbus, like all human beings, was imperfect - but, we live in an age where historical figures whose achievements were once honored, in spite of their imperfections, are finding their achievements ostracized because of their imperfections.  This should not be.

But as Christian History Institute relates: 

...we know beyond doubt that Columbus sailed, in part, to fulfill a religious quest. Columbus’s voyages were intense religious missions. He saw them as the fulfillment of a divine plan for his life—and for the soon-coming end of the world. As he put it in 1500, “God made me the messenger of the new heaven and the new earth of which he spoke in the Apocalypse of St. John [Rev. 21:1] after having spoken of it through the mouth of Isaiah; and he showed me the spot where to find it. ”

The article describes Columbus as "the advance man for a mighty evangelistic campaign. He would open new worlds and unseen peoples to the gospel." As it's pointed out, his name, Christopher, means, "Christ-bearer."

Just as Columbus apparently sought to reach a new world with a message of new life, faithful evangelistic outreaches are going forward to fulfill the Great Commission.  One significant area is the work of Bible translation.  And, a milestone has recently been reached regarding taking the gospel to a group of people that require a special translation - those who are deaf.

According to Baptist Press, in 1982, the founder of the ministry, Deaf Missions, Duane King, "began asking why Deaf people did not have access to the Bible in their heart language."  Now, 38 years later, the work of 53 translators has resulted in the entire Bible translated into American Sign Language. The story points out that the New Testament was finished in 2004.

The CEO of Deaf Missions, Chad Entinger, stated, “God answered the faithful prayers of His people, encouraged us through the generous provision of Deaf Missions supporters and funding partners, blessed us with 53 diligent translators and helped us persevere each step of the way..." The article notes that the American Sign Language Version, "a series of videos, can be accessed on the Deaf Missions website and the Deaf Missions Video App."

This work will now become a "launching pad" for other translations in sign language.  The article notes that:

Aric Randolph, pastor of Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church in Brentwood, Tenn., whose church also is heavily involved in Bible translation for the Deaf with a project called the Deafway Bible, welcomes the ASLV.

“This project has been long and for this to come to completion is a celebration,” Randolph said in written comments. “We are thrilled that the Deaf can have options of Bible translations that best fit their language and needs. We celebrate with them. We rejoice with them. We praise God with them.”

With the completion of this multi-year, multi-decade task, we can certainly celebrate that the deaf can receive God's Word in their own language - essentially, those who cannot hear will be able to hear, spiritually speaking, the Word of God, so they may know His truth more fully. 

Paul asks the question in Romans 10, "How can they hear...?"  You know, Jesus faced some people in his earthly ministry and calls out to people today who simply cannot hear, because they will not hear, because their hearts are not open to understanding Him. We can pray for God to open ears to hear what He is saying, and in partnership with the Holy Spirit, obey Him in playing a part to fulfill the Great Commission, in praying for souls to open up and boldly speaking His truth.

Finally, the work of Deaf Missions in providing this new translation is an example of diligence - it wasn't a task that would be completed instantly.  In this day of short attention spans and instant expectations, these individuals - over 50 of them - were diligent to complete what God had called them to do.