Beyond These Walls: Here We Go! Week 2 Devotional Day 3

Beyond These Walls: Here We Go! Week 2 Devotional Day 3

DAY 3 – Wednesday

Daily devotional

Read

Mark 4:23 with 1 Samuel 3:1-11; Mark 4:9-20; and Matthew 5:14-16.

Ask

In your own words explain what you think “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” means.

Reflect

We jokingly tell our teenaged daughter that she has bionic ears. If we smack our gum or chew food with our mouths open, she will hear it and let you know! We all have ears. To not have ears would be an unnatural occurrence. But, according to Jesus, we do not all have ears that hear. The Greek word for “hear” means to attend to; to comprehend or understand; to learn. Understanding God’s truth takes time, energy and focus; it takes a willingness to be challenged and changed. In this often-repeated verse, Jesus is alerting us to pay close attention and seek God’s wisdom concerning what He has said.

If we have ears to hear, that means we have a humble and teachable heart (good soil). When we have good soil, we learned from last week’s study, Jesus says we will be given spiritual understanding and a life of abundant fruitfulness. But if we do not have ears to hear, then we do not have a humble, teachable heart, and even what we think we have will be taken away.

The fruit from last week’s parable is the light in this week’s passage. The fruit of those who have ears to hear is a life of good deeds that shines in the world so that people who are coming in to God’s Kingdom may see and know the way to enter. “When your lamp is lit by the Word of God, and your life becomes a light of faith and joy and good deeds, don’t hide it” (Piper) [1] Take what Jesus gives you and make it known to the ends of the earth. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops” (Matthew 10:27).

Hearing – humbly and intentionally listening, learning and understanding – is a high calling.  It does not come naturally, but it is a gift that can be sought and cultivated. This is why Jesus warns us in verse 18, to pay attention to what we hear. Our salvation, our fruitfulness, the spread of the light of the world and the glory of God all depend on it!  Do you have ears to hear?

Lord, help me consider carefully what I hear so that, like Samuel, I can share what I have learned from You with others for Your glory.

[1] Take Care How You Listen! Part 1.” Desiring God, 29 Mar. 2019, www.desiringgod.org/messages/take-care-how-you-listen-part-1.