Segment From Mark 4

     "Again Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him, so he sat down in a boat near the shore. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. Jesus taught them many things, using stories. He said, 
     'Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep. But when the sun rose, the plants dried up because they did not have deep roots. Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not produce a crop. Some other seed fell on good ground and began to grow. It got taller and produced a crop. Some plants made thirty times more, some made sixty times more, and some made a hundred times more.' Then Jesus said to them, 'Let those with ears use them and listen!' 
     Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories. Jesus said,
     'You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories so that: They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven. (Isaiah 6:9-10) 
     Then Jesus said to His followers, 
     'Don't you understand this story? If you don't, how will you understand any story?'" 


Jesus then goes on to explain what the story means. I was reading this passage this morning and when I came to the story about the farmer and his seeds, I read through it quickly and didn't really think about it when I read. Directly proceeding the story, Jesus says, "'Let those with ears use them and listen!'" The translation of the Bible that I have right now is The New Century Version, so the usual, "Let those who have ears hear," commonly heard is not used like it's remembered regularly. I don't particularly like this version that I have and am planning to purchase a new Bible sometime very soon, but the Word of God is powerful and the Holy Spirit will speak one way or the other, no matter the translation (unless of course His words are taken away from or twisted, but in what I have read so far, that isn't the case.). Anyway, I read the story and read what Jesus had to say directly after and thought, "Wow, powerful." But I did not actually think about the story itself. I then thought about Jesus's telling me to hear/listen and was convicted for not thinking about the story. I knew what it meant because it's been taught in Sunday School seemingly every couple weeks as I've grown up. But was I really thinking about it for myself? I've thought about it before, but I was so disgusted with myself then. I am constantly asking other people to actually think and rethink about what they say or what I say or what others around them say, and I wasn't thinking about what Jesus Christ was saying. Even if I knew or know what was being said, that doesn't excuse the lack of thought and the laziness that sank into my head. Before I even knew it I was living out the very meaning of hypocrisy. Praise Christ for the Holy Spirit!  
     I see so many people whose lives reflect the seeds that do not grow at all or the seeds who grow and die shortly after. My heart's desire is to be the seed that falls on the good ground and flourishes. Though my heart and its desires may seem important, they are not unless I allow God to use and to change and to shape them. God must, "be grace in me," as I heard in a sermon from Louie Giglio a couple weeks ago. That has to be our continual prayer: Holy God, Heavenly Father, be grace in me. If you enjoyed reading this in the slightest or were intrigued in any way, I would appreciate it greatly if you responded and told me what you thought. Have a wonderful day!