Ears, and a heart to listen by Gary Rose

I wish I could tell you the name of this rabbit; I cannot. His outstanding feature- THOSE EARS!!! They are there for a good reason- HEARING!!! People have ears as well, but do they listen? The answer that seems to fit the question best (in our society today) is no; everyone seems to just want to express their own point of view and any pause in their speech is only long enough to determine how to continue to argue their viewpoint. This is especially true in politics!!!

However, like that rabbit, we were born with two ears and one mouth and it seems reasonable to me that we should listen twice as much as we talk. And with that in mind, I remember the words of Jesus:"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

 The Word of God

Matthew, Chapter 13 (World English Bible)

 ¹ On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.  ² Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.  ³ He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.   ⁴  As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.   ⁵  Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.   ⁶  When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.   ⁷  Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.   ⁸  Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.   ⁹  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (emp. added vs.9 GDR)
  ¹⁰ The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 

  ¹¹ He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.   ¹²  For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.  ¹³  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.   ¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, 

‘By hearing you will hear, 
and will in no way understand; 

Seeing you will see, 
and will in no way perceive: 


  ¹⁵  for this people’s heart has grown callous, 
their ears are dull of hearing, 
they have closed their eyes; 

or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, 
hear with their ears, 
understand with their heart, 

and would turn again; 
and I would heal them.’


  ¹⁶  “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.   ¹⁷  For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them. 

  ¹⁸  “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.   ¹⁹  When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.   ²⁰  What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;   ²¹  yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.   ²²  What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.   ²³ What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

 

 The true source of defilement

Mark, Chapter 7 (World English Bible)
  ¹ Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem.  ² Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault.  ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders.  ⁴ They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things, which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.)  ⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?” 

  ⁶ He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 

‘This people honors me with their lips, 
but their heart is far from me. 


  ⁷  But they worship me in vain, 
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’


  ⁸  “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.”   ⁹ He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.   ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’  and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’   ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,”’”  that is to say, given to God,  ¹²  “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother,   ¹³  making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.” 

  ¹⁴ He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.   ¹⁵  There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.   ¹⁶  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” (emp. added vs. 16 GDR)

 The Cost of Discipleship

 Luke, Chapter 14 (World English Bible)

 ²⁵ Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them,  ²⁶  “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple.   ²⁷  Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple.   ²⁸  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?   ²⁹  Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him,   ³⁰  saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’   ³¹  Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?   ³²  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace.   ³³  So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.   ³⁴  Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it?   ³⁵  It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (emp. added vs. 35c GDR)

Three topics, one common theme in the form of a question: Are you willing to listen? Yes- then your heart is right before God; no and there is a problem.  When I read and reread Jesus' statement, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear", I hear an emphatic - Listen!!

First and foremost- this means YOU, GARY, and if me then probably you as well. So, to us all I say-

 listen with your ears and "hear" with your heart!!