One of the main reasons for going
to church each week is to receive spiritual manna to revive and nourish our
spiritual lives, and to come home with parcels of spiritual food to munch on
and reflect upon throughout the week. But oftentimes, upon returning home we
cannot seem to remember the many teachings we had heard that day, much less the
teachings learned the week before. Why does this happen?
For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (Mt
13:12)
The Lord Jesus gave us the answer
when He said these words. In this particular instance, Jesus had just finished telling
the Parable of the Sower, and the disciples had asked Him why He spoke in
parables. From His answer, we know that Jesus was in fact explaining the
meaning of the parable already—that is, we need to take heed how we hear.
When we hear, we should not
hear with our ears only. We should also hear with our hearts, like the good
ground which hears the word, accepts it, and bears fruit (Mt 13:23). This means when we hear, we also
need to apply the word. And when we apply it, we will be given more.
Applying the word of God also
gives us more spiritual nourishment, strength, and insight into things
pertaining to the heavenly kingdom than those who neglect to digest what they
have been taught. Whoever does not have the heart to do what he hears, even
what he learns will soon be forgotten, and the opportunity of blessing taken
away.
Jesus only revealed the meaning of
His parables to those among the multitude who stayed behind to ask Him about
it. Like the good ground, they had the heart to truly understand it on a deeper
level. Likewise, those who diligently seek to understand the word of God by
doing what they hear will have the blessing of receiving more (Jas 1:25).
Reflection Questions
1. What
are some practical ways we can be doers of the word we hear?
2. Have
we ever experienced abundance from God when we had taken the time to digest and
exercise His word?
