Help Me Understand - Luke 8:16-18
Those who know me well know that though I love to study God's Word, I so often struggle in the Gospels - more than almost any other books.
Luke 8:4-15 starts off this passage. It is pretty clear that this parable is not about the sower or even the seed, but the ground. It's about how receptive our hearts are to God's Word (be it about salvation or anything). It teaches that at times our hearts can be any of the different soils (yes - after salvation). Then Luke seems to bookend it with 8:16-18 - "so take care how you listen."
I'm having a hard time truly understanding how 16 and 17 relate to all this. And we can't just jump to parallel passages, because they are used differently. What do 16-17 have to do with listening to God's Word?
posted by Tim @ 11:01 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Tim-
You just never know who is stalking you via your blog. This is a great question and a deep one. How is hearing connected to the receptivity of our hearts? My incomplete, incorrect take is that hearing leads to an understanding or receptivity, a formulation of what is meant by what is said. I think of Jesus' conclusion, after sharing a parable, in Mark 4:9, "He who has ears let him hear." And then his remarks that follow to his disciples. Which are probably a reference to a couple of OT passages. Isaiah 43:8 and Jeremiah 5:21. Some would suggest you have to read further into the OT passages in order to understand what Jesus was saying in Mark. I think when Jesus quoted the OT in Mark he stopped short of his point and allowed the disciples to finish it in their heads, a sneaky way of making his point. After all they new it by heart. Anyway, all that to say I think the idea of "hearing" is central to understanding the way we are to recieve or be receptive of the message of Jesus and how we live it out in the world. If nothing else it drives us deeper to hopefully understanding more fully the heart of Jesus and his message.
More importantly, I hope all is well with your family, especially that new baby. Don't miss a moment. Peace to you!
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