3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
– Mathew 13:3-9
Have you ever been given instruction by your teachers, peers, or parents and completely rebelled or disregarded their advice? For most of us, this is a common moment that we’ve all shared. When someone says something that we want to hear, or that we feel good about, we are more apt to listen. There is always the child who will do exactly what is opposite to what their parents asked them to despite the good intentions for their wellbeing. I know I have been in that mindset at one point in my life as many of us probably have. Some of us still have those issues either because of a broken need to be recognized or feel that you have to prove yourself, no matter how wrong you might be. Sometimes it proves a point, but most of a time it proves how insecure we really are.
Jesus speaks specifically to his disciples on this matter and to those who were hobnobbing around hoping to see a miracle or two or learn something to use for their profit. What Jesus speaks of in this passage is that the word of God must begin to run deep. Not just surface level, nor used as simple moral philosophy or behavior modification. God’s word must begin to run deep into our hearts. The good soil is founded in the love for God, and the deeper understanding of his love for us that it begins to shape not just our behavior, but our very soul.
Hearing then, according to Jesus requires much more than hearing with our physical ears. It requires us to listen with also our hearts – that his teaching ought to be applied with the heart of God in mind. To truly know and acknowledge God is both done with the mind and the heart all in one.
As you listen and hear God’s word today, may your understanding of God’s Grace begin to run much deeper than just what we read with our eyes, or hear with our ears – but that it may sink deep within our heart and soul.
T H E O P H I L U S 
Leave a comment