"Phil, the first voice I will hear now that I am dead will be Jesus' voice. He will say to me, 'Lloyd, it's time to wake up and come home with me!" Lloyd would get tears in his eyes every time he shared that statement with me. He believed it. He built his life upon his trust in Jesus. Most of all, Lloyd anticipated the day when his two dreams would come true:

  1. He would be able to hear again.

  2. He would meet Jesus face-to-face.

Lloyd loved to joke and tease. He would point to the missing end of one finger and joke that he was the only deaf person he knew who spoke with a lisp. Lloyd also deeply loved sharing Jesus with those in the deaf community. He went all over the world, sharing Jesus. I met him because his daughter interpreted for me to the deaf. I loved it when she would reverse-interpret (be the voice) for her dad when he preached to hearing people. And, I loved that he would repeat that statement of faith about hearing Jesus' voice every time I saw him.

Lloyd lived believing that the first voice he would ever hear would be the voice of Jesus. Lloyd's faith made me want to live in such a way that I was sure the first voice I would hear after I died would be the voice of Jesus. Maybe my experience with Lloyd and his faith is why Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene at the tomb is so precious to me:

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher") (John 20:11-16).

Mary was devastated by Jesus' death. She had no apparent hope in Jesus' resurrection. Mary and several other women and brought spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus' dead body. Arriving at the tomb, she discovered that the huge stone over the entrance was rolled away and that Jesus' body was gone. Frantic, heartbroken, and confused, Mary wanted the person she thought was the gardener to tell her where the body of Jesus had been taken. Then, Jesus said one word to her that changed, everything: "Mary."

Instantly, Mary knew Jesus had called her name. Sheep know their shepherd by the sound of his voice (John 10:4-5, 27). Mary knew that this man was Jesus and that his followers needed to know he was alive. Hearing Jesus' voice say her name was enough for Mary!

Anticipating Jesus' voice, the first voice he would hear after going deaf, was enough for Lloyd. He knew that as soon as he hard the Lord's voice, like Mary, he would be ready to fall at his feet and worship him as Lord. Lloyd trusted in Jesus' promise about our resurrection, a resurrection ensured by Jesus' triumph over sin, death, and hell through his resurrection:

"I speak to you eternal truth: Soon the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will arise with life! For the Father has given the Son the power to impart life, even as the Father imparts life" (John 5:25-26 TPT).

I am hoping that you and I are like Lloyd: anticipating Jesus' voice is enough to sustain us until we fall at his feet in worship, thanksgiving, and praise. One day "soon," we will hear the voice of the Son of God, and because we are listening for our Shepherd's voice, we "will arise with life!"

Resurrection 2.4 is our reminder to keep listening for the moment our Savior calls our name!

Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus' ministry from The Lumo Project and Free Bible Images for use on this week's post, "The Jesus Window"!