Are You Willing?

So, over Thanksgiving break, something happened that I've never really seen before. I was sitting at Starbucks with my mom, enjoying my holiday drink, when I overheard some men talking at the table next to me. There were four of them, two on each side of the table, and I noticed that three of them were listening to one of the guys talk. I didn't hear the majority of the conversation, but I heard some things like "Jesus loves you so much" and "He would do that for us". I noticed one of the guys seemed to be listening very intently. I couldn't help but infer that the Gospel was being shared. It made my heart happy and, you know, that's not something you see/hear every day in our society...

I heard something the other day that I had never really thought about before. Let me preface this by saying that many people are out there who choose not to believe in Christ. There are those out there that think there is something, they just don't know what/who. There are people out there who say they follow Christ. And there are people out there that actively follow Him.

The whole thing about Jesus speaking in parables in the Bible seems to be this: that He tells those stories so that only people who are willing to hear Him will understand the message. To everyone else, it just seems like a pointless story. But those who are willing to hear get something out of the "moral of the story" so to speak. Isn't that interesting? Think about it. Only if you're willing to really listen and hear will you understand the message. If you're heart is open to hearing about Christ, if your heart is willing to accept that He is that "something more", you will hear what He has to say. After telling the parable about the sower and the seed (Mark 4:4-9), Jesus says, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." Anyone could have just heard that parable, but Jesus was speaking to those who would hear His message. You can hear the words and just let it go in one ear and out the other, but those who open their ears to Him will hear what the 'moral of the story' is. It may take some practice, sometimes I miss points. However, the fact of the matter is there. You need to hear it in order to feel it, in order to live it.

As a believer, I never really thought about it that way. I've always been to church and I've listened to the messages and tried to take them to heart. This is going to be a relatively short post, but vital to people out there. If people are asking questions, answer them, don't let them wander on their own. You can't change their heart, but if they are becoming inclined to seek Christ, then walk with them.

"'Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.' Then Jesus said, 'Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.'"

-Mark 4:3-9