Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Place of Our Hearts


"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." (Luke 8:16-18 NIV)

A friend of mine who is a professor told me recently that he received much more critical evaluations than ever before.  Having been a popular teacher for years, he concluded the change was due to his rules on texting and Internet surfing in his classes.  It had become such a problem, he had to create a policy in response.  Many of his students apparently didn’t like it.

When people really aren’t interested in something, they look for other things to distract them.  Recently, while sitting in a church service, a young couple in front of me spent the whole praise time talking to each other.  It was obvious their hearts were not into the praise of God.  They were there, but their hearts were somewhere else.

Jesus had just finished explaining his parable of the soils to His disciples when he spoke the passage above.  The parable was about the heart’s openness to the Gospel and this passage must be seen in that context. And the key quote is, “Therefore consider carefully how you listen.”  

It is easy for us to become arrogant about our knowledge of things. Students who would rather be texting than listening to the professor think either they already know the information or it is not really that important. They are in class only because that is what is expected and needed to earn their degrees.  Their hearts are elsewhere. The same can be true of people who consider themselves Christians.  They may attend worship services and do other religious things because that is what is expected, but their hearts are in a different place.  

Jesus came to teach what people needed to hear.  The crowds gathered because he was a popular rabbi in a religious culture.  But it is apparent most didn’t listen carefully to what He was saying.  Their hearts, too, were in a different place.  

It is not enough just to be in the seat in class or in church.  What Jesus says matters is the place of our hearts.  And while we may be able to hide that from those around us, we cannot hide it from Him.  He knows our hearts.  

Where is your heart today?  Is it open to what Jesus has to teach you? Know that it matters how carefully you listen to Him.

© Jim Musser 2013

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