By
Allen White
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“You
will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you
will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become
calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and
they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.”
But blessed are your eyes because they see,
and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and
righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear
what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:14-17
Driving a familiar
stretch of road doesn’t require much thought. You know every curve and every
bend in the road. Mentally, you might even check out and drive it on autopilot.
Then, you wonder a few miles later, “How did I get here already?”
Once upon a time,
you had to consult a map or GPS to discover this route. Now, you know it like
the back of our hand.
Once upon a time,
you couldn’t think of anything else but getting together with a special someone
in your life. You gave him or her your full attention. You were fascinated at
how you could finish each other’s sentences. Now, things are familiar. You know
exactly what they’re going to say…do you have to hear it again?
Often familiarity
breeds contempt. What was once an exhilarating discovery has now become “Here
we go again.” For some of us, sacred things have also become familiar.
I remember a time
in my life when I couldn’t get enough of the Word of God. I devoured my Bible.
It is so highlighted and marked up that I can’t even use it now. But, after a
while the Word of God became familiar. Bible reading can also go on autopilot.
What happened?
Danger lurks when
we come to believe we have it all figured out. Whether we try to text and drive
or neglect our spouses, we’re headed for a wreck.
The religious
leaders and others of Jesus’ day believed they had God all figured out. They
felt their understanding was so complete, there was nothing else to learn.
Their knowledge got in the way of their learning.
For those of us who
grew up in church, we have a similar problem. All of those years in Sunday
school give a sense that we’ve got it all covered. The old, old story seems
sort of old. But, a childhood understanding of the Truth of God’s Word is
insufficient to lead our adult lives.
Sure, Noah and the
ark hasn’t changed. But, how do you reconcile that with “Noah got drunk”? (Genesis 9:21-27). We didn’t have a flannel graph lesson for
that story.
Now that we’ve
faced a certain amount of disappointment and unmet expectations, how do we
trust God as an adult? We know what we’re supposed to believe, but what do we
really believe?
If we think we’ve
got the message of the Bible down pat, we might just fall into the category of
“hearing but never understanding…ever seeing but never perceiving.” If we can
listen to sermon after sermon, Sunday after Sunday and it makes no impact on
our lives, it’s not necessarily the preacher’s fault. If the once fertile
ground of our hearts has begun to harden, the Truth will just sit on the
surface and have no effect.
But, there’s a way
to avoid all of this. Rather than just taking in the Word with eyes and ears,
the prophet added one more vital sense: our hearts. “They might see with their
eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would
heal them.” Our heads may understand academically, but what do our hearts
understand?
When we allow God’s
Word to speak deeply into our lives, we gain a new understanding of the things of
God. Our life experiences add a richness to our understanding of how God works.
When we once thought God would solve all of our problems, we later accept He
will be with us no matter what – and that’s good enough.
How does God’s Word
affect you lately? Does it inspire you to move ahead? Does it hit you right
between the eyes on a failure in your life? Does God’s Word convict you of
meaningless distractions and challenge you toward meaningful work?
If God’s Word is in
one ear and out the other, the problem doesn’t lie with your ears. It’s a heart
condition.
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