The problem with Jesus' statement to us - 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear' - is that we are not always reliable judges on the matter. Most people think they have ears to hear, but I think that on our own - we tend to hear mostly what justifies us, reinforces what we already believe, and protects us.
The disciples did not understand the parables - and the truth is, we would not without help (Jesus helped us directly in some cases). Jesus said that part of why he taught in parables is to give a deeper truth to those who could hear it, but also to provide some concealment for those who were not going to hear anyway.
We need divine help to hear the divine message, any divine message - and if we don't think we need divine help, well, that probably is not a good sign.
6 comments:
I agree. I think about that a lot. How often do I merely reinforce what I already know and completely forget about trying to get more out of what I read or hear? Probably more often than I even realize...
I think your statement, "we tend to hear mostly what justifies us" is significant. This sums up much of the human struggle. I many ways finding ways to be more open and to intentionally put ourselves in a place where we are willing to be influenced is the start to the battle. I think we, as human beings, must fight with everything we have against our self-deceptions. We must try with great difficulty to understand and probe as deep as we can into our bondages and struggles so that we can be as least deceived as possible. It is one thing to recognize our struggles and our desire to suppress truth we don't like, it is another to not realize that we are doing it because we are so blinded in our own failures. I know I live in both of those places. I guess it is significant to realize as you stated (more or less) that as human beings we typically don't search for the truth, but rather our truth. We want to reinforce what we already know. I think you could get away with a more dogmatic way of living in the past, but with the age of technology and globalization information is spread and received with greater ease. All you have to do is Google it. It is way easier to get info, but that doesn't mean that it is easier in any sense to receive truth. Human nature is one thing technology will never solve. Our human nature is to reinforce what we already believe and want to believe because we feel safe with concrete systems. The problem is, we don't know enough about ourselves or others to make concrete systems that are complete and perfect. We need to have a framework for viewing the world, but we must keep in mind that this framework is flawed somewhere because we are flawed as human beings. This should drive us to a humble pursuit of truth and the uprooting of all self-deceptive tendencies we can find. Easier said than done.
Ian and I just wanted you all to know that you are missed.
Ian and Mandy McDermott
How can God's call be specific and general?
"It is to the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." Proverbs 25:2
God is infinitely creative. He has created each human being in His own image, collectively and specifically. I believe our "call" in life, generally, is extensively described in God's Word, but the specific path each of our lives should take is something God designs uniquely for each person.
Proverbs 16:9 has helped me to understand my role in this piece of truth. I plan life according to how the Word has called me to live collectively, but God is the one who directs each step along the way.
I agree with much of the above, but would add that I think Jesus wants to talk to us not only about what we do - about the actions we take - but also about who we are. Why do I respond this way or that (even if I have learned to control it outwardly)? Why do I want this or that (even if I have learned not to go there)? Why am I not always open to take a good hard look at myself. I am called to be like Christ. In order to do that, He has a lot of work to do on my heart - and He won't run out of things to do on my heart in this lifetime. He calls me to have ears to hear as He speaks to my heart about my heart.
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