It all starts with a thought. Quoting Melanie Matthews:

“Do you think about reading? What about writing? How about speaking? Do you think about listening? Well, literacy is all four of these things.” * Source: Inside Literacy, Cornerstone Schools; web link: cornerstoneschools.org

Melanie Matthews is a District Literacy Coach at Washington-Parks Academy and Lincoln-King Academy, and she makes a point. Gaining literacy starts with a thought. We want to be able to read. We want to be able to understand written messages. Just think about the impact of reading and writing! More than an additional way to communicate, it helps us connect with people of the past and present. We can read what they wrote down and be inspired. With literacy we learn to master an entire skill-set: reading, writing, listening and speaking. And as a result, a whole new world opens up.

Literacy is based on more than just one factor. So is our walk with God.

Walking with God is a multilayered affair. It starts with expecting that God has something to say. He actually weighs in to anything that matters. And listening to God’s input, we find ourselves under His care. God cannot care for us if we don’t listen to Him. One doesn’t go without the other.

Listening to God is the key to discovering a brand-new world: the Kingdom of God.

We learn the art of lending an impartial and unbiased ear from God Himself because that’s the way He listens. He has no preconceived notions or prejudice. Unfortunately the world lacks good listeners, which is why it has become increasingly illiterate: People misread people, and as a result situations tend to escalate. Reading the Bible without listening to the Lord is another kind of illiteracy leading to a poor reflection of the Lord.

All goodness starts with a key-thought: wanting to know God is one of them. If we want to know Him, we will find and worship Him. Under His care we have everything.