Hearing Jesus
31 years ago I was in my own little world. I was playing happily by myself in the sandpit. All was well with the world, until a passing teach informs me I had missed the school bell! Aghast, I looked around and saw a deserted playground. I quickly hurried off to class. I heard the bell, but then forgot to go back to class. Sometimes we have moments, when we hear things but fail to process them and put them into action. And it’s the same when it comes to the message of Jesus…
Mark 4:21-25 wants us to consider carefully what we hear…
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
Mark 4:21-25 is about hearing Jesus and then doing something about it. So we might hear about Jesus, we might hear his message as we take a look at the Bible, in sermons, in the car on a podcast, but if it goes in one ear and out the other, then we have a problem. What you do with what you hear makes all the difference.
We can hear Jesus word, but then we can want to cover him over. Sort of keep him to ourselves. Keep our faith private. Or we can hear Jesus and then not agree with him, saying yeah-na to what we hear. We can sit in judgment on Jesus and his word.
Jesus wants us to hear him and respond the right way. For if we hear Jesus and hear him the right way, then his good news will change our lives. He is the King of God’s kingdom, come to shine out into this dark world and illumine us as well.