Until a few years ago, I had never seen the movie Star Wars. This was the cinematic equivalent of blasphemy for my in-laws, my friends, and pretty much everyone else in the world, really. Star Wars is part of our cultural lexicon, but when you’ve never seen it, most references to it go unnoticed. It’s as if fans of the film franchise speak another language when they talk about it. Sure, I had heard people say, “Luke, I am your father,” but anything more than that, and I was totally lost. I never understood the context of what I was hearing. And I certainly couldn’t contribute to the conversation.
When Jesus taught in parables, He was speaking to two audiences. Some, like His disciples, understood what He was teaching. And if they didn’t understand, they would ask Jesus to explain. Others belonged to the “you will listen and listen, but never understand” camp (Matthew 13:14). Much like being a part of a conversation about a movie you’ve never seen or a book you’ve never read, the latter audience could tune out the point of Jesus’s message.
Jesus knew that by speaking in parables, His message would get through to the right people—the people who would open their hearts to Him and who would work to see the kingdom of God flourish. He also knew that the people who were out to get Him would not understand the parables, and so to some degree, parables were a protective measure.
Reading the parable of the sower, I wonder where I land on the spectrum of listeners. As Jesus sows the seeds of His message, how receptive are my heart and mind? Do I have a hard heart and closed eyes when I read Scripture? Do I read the difficult parts with the same rigor and delight as I do the easier passages? Do I cling to the Jesus who heals and pardons and shy away from the Jesus who turns over tables and calls out sinners? Do I let the double-edged sword of Scripture do its good, sanctifying work in me?
Eugene Peterson wrote it this way in The Message: “They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.”
I know my heart is rocky and full of weeds that choke out the Word. The parable of the sower exposes my idols, holding them up to the light of Jesus’s message about the kingdom of God, about the freedom and peace He, and He alone, brings. But I am tempted to fall away when trials come, turning to my own strength instead of the Word of God. I chase the material, the next-best, and the greener grass, instead of running relentlessly after Jesus alone. My faith is weak, even when I long for it to somehow be enough.
The remedy for my fallow heart is the Word.
May we be eager listeners with hearts rich with fertile ground, eager to know His teaching and ready to do whatever He asks of us.
Yes, my heart is rocky and full of weeds.
One of the things I have realized during this journey is I put too much trust in my own strength.
And then when I get so weary, so overwhelmed, so stressed….only then do I turn back to God and plead with Him. I’m so frustrated with myself. I know better.
I do think I’m a bit angry with God.
And this study is helping me climb back out of that pit.
And He is still with me.
He still loves me.
He provides all that I need.
Praying for so many of you this morning. Mia Faith, my heart hurts for you.
Hugs to all ❤️
Matthew 13: 52 “Therefore,” he said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”
Isn’t it amazing that we can read and read and read a verse and never “get it”? I want to be like the owner of the house! I want to fill my “storehouse” of truth so that when I meet with girls (my husband and I both work at a university and I have lots of opportunities to disciple younger women), I am able to share with them “treasures new and old”…obviously we have the completed Bible, so no new revelations, but taking old truths and making applications that are new to them/their lives. I was also struck by the word “treasure” – “a very valuable object or collection of objects”…do I present the word of God this way? As something valuable and precious?? Thankful that God is so gracious to continue to show ME old things (this verse) made new (the clearer understanding of it)!
*RAINER* ❤ Apologies, MELANIE! I have a cracked screen and missed that.
Like MELANIE RAINIER, my extent of Star Wars knowledge is that quote! And like Melanie, I too often “… know my heart is rocky and full of weeds that choke out the Word. The parable of the sower exposes my idols, holding them up to the light of Jesus’s message about the kingdom of God, about the freedom and peace He, and He alone, brings. But I am tempted to fall away when trials come, …”
Personally, I tend to cower in conviction rather than facing it head-on. I know better! Conviction tills the soil of the heart making it more productive in the future.
Psalm 78 really stood out to me this morning. Like Jesus, we can’t stop sharing the word just because it may not be received as we would like.
4b “…but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
his might, and the wondrous works
he has performed.
God prepares the hearts and minds; our job is to share the Word.
Another great week of study and great comments! Prayers for all!
TINA – GRRR! Hope you can make it back! ❤
SEARCHING – ❤
“May we be eager listeners with hearts rich with fertile ground, eager to know His teaching and ready to do whatever He asks of us.” Yes, and Amen! …I find some comfort in the fact that the disciples had the same questions we do, one of them being – “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Jesus answer – “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, where Paul explains that the natural (unsaved) man can not understand things of the Spirit and it is foolishness to him. It makes me so thankful to be a child of God, and to be given privileges of heaven – because of what Christ did on the cross, for me and you.
Lord, help me to be an eager listener. May my heart be rich with fertile ground and may I be eager to know Your teaching and be ready to do whatever You ask. In Jesus name, Amen.
@Mia – I am so sorry to hear your husbands body has not yet been recovered. Prayers for you and your family and that he will be found soon so that you can all have closure and move forward with arrangements.
Have a blessed Friday sisters!
I love that Jesus keeps His gourmet feast for His beloved children. I know Jesus welcomes all, but not all get the blessings until they follow Him. That makes me feel so special. Like God really does love me and is so eager to give me His special blessings. In another bible study, we’ve been talking about how much God loves us and values us and sees us as so worthy of His love. I think if some Christian circles its easy to downplay how valuable we are, we never want to “elevate” ourselves to being worthy of Christ’s love. But would He have sacrifice all for us if He didn’t see us as worth it? It’s not spiritual to downplay our value to Him. He loves us so much, and we can walk in confidence and assurance that we are truly loved and valued. He allows us to hear His voice and tells us secrets about His kingdom that others don’t get to hear (until they repent and come to Him). We are all so loved. Walk in that security and confidence this weekend. Walk in the knowledge that we are very special to the Lord our God.
I also copied down this part from HRT: Why didn’t He explain them to everyone? Why not just speak in plain language to begin with? Because Jesus was calling hearts, not arguing with minds. He spoke to the ears of the heart, and if those ears could hear Him, then the heart would follow Him.
It’s about the heart, not the mind.
It’s interesting that we today focus so much on the mind, on the intellect. As a teacher, obviously that was important to me as well. “Are you thinking about this?” “Think it through before you write your answer.”
But truthfully, even I, a lowly human teacher(and not Jesus) knew that the heart was so important. Did my students WANT to learn? Did my students keep trying? Did they desire to learn from me and others, or did they just not care? Or did they think they knew it already?
When I approach God’s Word, I want to be that eager, hungry, determined student who desires to learn more, who is willing to put in the hard work to understand, and who trusts the one who is teaching the material. Amen.
I pray my heart is good soil, ready to see and hear and understand…to give all for the Kingdom!