For Those Who Have Ears to Hear

 

 "Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was scattered.Then Jesus said, "If you have ears, pay attention" (Mark 4: 3-9). 

(Katie)  One of the many blessings of taking this job in Residence Life at Wheaton College is that I also get to be a graduate student in the Christian Formation and Ministry program. Since learner is one of my top 5 Strengths ( a plug for Strengths Finder), the classroom is a context that I feel very comfortable in. Even though I am only 2 weeks in, I am grateful at what a perfect fit the program is for me....I get to take the Ennegram for fun....and I get to read Park Palmer and Henri Nouwen for classs....what could be better? Today, I had Bible in Ministry and Dr. Schwanda opened our class with some startling statistics including:

• The % of born again Christians who get divorced is higher than non-Christians.
• The highest rates of domestic abuse occur in the Bible Belt.
• Born Again Christians spend 700% of their time watching T.V. rather than reading the Bible.
• Evangelicals are more likely to reject an African-American neighbor than Catholics or Mainline Christians. 
• 13% of born again Christians think there is nothing wrong with extramarital sex.

These statistics paint an ugly picture of the Church. I was appalled...who are these people?

I'll come back to this in a second. But first, I want to share something that I've been learning about marriage in the last month. Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3 was the main verse at our wedding and uses the imagery of being "rooted and established" in love. As God establishes the foundation in our marriage, we prayed into what we need to be intentional about in this season as we build a foundation. Here is what we got (1) To be quick to repent and ask for forgiveness..not just for words and actions...but the heart even for not having our heart be in the right place (2) to be QUICK to listen and slow to speak (3) Intentionally having a weekly date night and a Sabbath on Sunday. I want to focus specifically on #'s (1) and (2) as they both specifically relate to listening and hearing.

 

The parable in Mark 4 starts out with a command, "Listen!" Obviously, the author is declaring an imperative...this action is essential. The rest of the parable describes four different pictures of receptivity. I believe that this parable is about one person and the various ways in which we respond to Truth. Pride, busyness, bitterness, defensiveness, a hardened heart are all variables that prevent me from listening to God and being receptive to the ways that God uses James for my own refinement. I am learning a lot about my own sin nature, by the number of times I have to be quick to ask James for forgiveness throughout day. But, I am also learning that when I am receptive and willing to receive what James has to say or am quick to ask for his forgiveness, I do not sow seeds of bitterness or a hardened heart, both of which illustrate aspects of the hard, thin soil and the soil with weeds.

So back to the statistics....who are those people anyway? Well I definitely have the propensity to be one of those statistics. I am not above that. Evangelicals often pride themselves on being people of the Bible, but the question is are we actually faithful in living that out? Our we letting the Truth in the Bible penetrate deep? What is the condition of the soil in our hearts? 

Listening as a command sounds simple, especially compared to 'love your enemy' or 'your neighbor.' But can we do anything that we are commanded in the Bible without listening to God? As I practice living that out in marriage and in my own relationship with God, I am learning that it is hard work. It requires slowing down from a busy pace. Intentionality and discipline. Redefining and unlearning bad habits. "If you have ears, pay attention." I am praying that God would refine me so I become a woman that is faithful in listening.