I was just listening to a sermon this morning about the Parable of the Sower.
As a large crowd was gathering, and people were flocking to Him from every town, He said in a parable:
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.
6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture.
7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Lk 8:4–8.
At the end of this passage Jesus says, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”. I thought that part was very interesting. I don’t think we pay much attention to how we listen. I know sometimes when I’m in conversation, my mind is racing about other things. Sometimes it’s about what I’m going to say next. A lot of times it’s listening to what they have to say. And sometime It’s just I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner. Ha. But what Jesus is talking about is how we listen. He’s exactly right in how we listen and how we apply what we hear. Are we going to use it and apply it our lives? Or are we just going to zone out and think about ourselves?
I have started to play around with developing a podcast. I have this soundboard which I have a microphone and headphones plugged into. I can manipulate the sound coming from the microphone in different ways to make the resulting sound much different. I can make my voice sound like a robot. Or a monster. Or as if I’m talking through a megaphone. But for it to sound exactly how I want it, I have to tune it. We don’t even think about the sounds that come to us. But that is what Jesus is talking about. Yes we are to listen. But we have to make sure our posture for hearing is tuned in. We have to make sure we want to hear the truth. Because if we have the right tune, and we hear the truth, Jesus says we can be blessed 100 times what was sown. I think it’s awesome how Jesus’ words are so important for today’s times. So how are you going to tune yourself to hear the truth? What are you going to do today to listen intently on God’s will for your life?