“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8).
The Bible has quite a lot to say about hearing. Today we will explore some of the things that the Bible tells us about hearing. In a sense, every time we are part of a church service or reading the Bible, we are testing our hearing.
One of the most repeated reminders in the whole Bible (both OT and NT) is this: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (see above).
What is there to hear? What is there to listen to?
Our ears are constantly picking up sounds around us even when we aren’t actively listening (especially the children).
Selective listening is when we focus our attention on some specific information. It involves consciously or unconsciously choosing to listen to what is relevant to us and ignore what isn’t.
Now, God created us with this capability: to hear, He definitively expects us to hear…especially He wants us to hear Him.
In the garden, God said, “…you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil …” (Genesis 2:17). Did he expect Adam and Eve to hear that command? He did. Did they hear it? Definitely not.
Choosing the Israelites to be His people, God wanted them to hear. Again and again, God’s people were invited to hear, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
What is there to hear? What is there to listen to?
“…When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). It wasn’t a “fantasy” story; it wasn’t a “make-you-feel-good” talk; it wasn’t a piece of news. It was a call to pay attention to God’s word and guard it/keep it/cherish it.
Let this be an invitation to be attentive hearers of God’s Word. Here, hear.