“Then Jesus said, Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:9
Jesus had started talking to the people in parables. Parables are just stories of real life things with a meaning in the spiritual realm. Most everything in a parable will be a symbol of something else. It helps a person see something not physical or normal in a real way.
In this chapter the first parable is about a farmer sowing seed and getting a crop. On the surface that is what it is about. Many people will only see that and stop there.
A few verses later, Jesus points out the spiritual meaning of that parable. It is about how God’s word is sown out and some accept it and produce good fruit, while others do not accept it and do not produce any fruit.
Before explaining the parable, Jesus makes the statement about really hearing what was being said.
Words are very powerful. They can make something good sound very bad, and they can make something bad sound very good. Since that is the case, a person has to be careful to really listen to what is being said.
Look at politicians and what they say, and compare it to what they are meaning. Look at the articles in the news. Often they can make or break a person; make a person look good or bad.
How does this apply to the Christian? First, in the Bible, be sure to hear what God is really saying in the Scriptures and understand them. Read the Bible with understanding. Let God’s Holy Spirit guide you and open your ears to hearing what God is saying.
Second, really understand what is going on in life today. This goes for your personal life, and life in this world as a whole, starting at your local neighborhood, all the way to the entire world.
God is working in this world. Satan is also working in this world. Are you really listening to what is going on? Are you really hearing what God is wanting to do?
Slow down and listen to God, and understand what He is doing in your life and through you. Allow God to produce a crop in your life of a hundred times over what was sown.
I pray today that you will hear what God is saying; that God will give you understanding of His will; that you will be filled with God’s Holy Spirit; and that God will use you to build His kingdom.
So few today actually take the time to discern ‘the big picture’ of what is really going on. They take at face value everything they read or see on social media as true, only to learn later that some of it was false. Nice thoughts about ‘digging deeper’- especially when it comes to the Word.
Thank you!