Message: What caught my attention today was in Luke 8 when the disciples asked Jesus what the parable of the sower meant. Jesus told them that the secrets of the kingdom of God were for them to know, but parables were for the rest so that “looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” I had always assumed that we should do our best to present the right information so people will see the truth of the gospel. Here it appears that Jesus is being vague on purpose. I had seen more of the same in other places and had always confused me. It sounded cruel and unloving but this doesn’t match the nature of God. Thinking this through a little deeper it occurred to me that Jesus knew they would all reject him as Messiah. Their hearts were hardened and scripture even tells us that there will be a time when the hardening of their hearts would be lifted once the Gentiles had all been given the opportunity to receive Jesus. Because we are all accountable for what we know it almost appears that maybe Jesus was protecting them from responsibility. This is not to say that we should intentionally stay ignorant, but it also further emphasizes our accountability for what we know.
Command: I need to take seriously the things I read and understand in the word. I am accountable for what I know and understand.
Promise: On the contrary, Jesus was pouring into those who were genuinely seeking. His disciples were given deeper explanations, and even among the twelve, there were three who saw the deeper level of things. When we are genuine in our seeking, God reveals truth to us.
Warning: When we are walking in a hardened state we are in a dangerous place. We are accountable for what we know, but our hardness keeps us from walking in obedience.
Application: This reminds me of the importance of keeping my communication with God flowing, and my obedience to walk it out daily. I need to deal with both sin as well as internal questions I have honestly and not allow them to sit and fester. Both sin and those unaddressed questions can easily become offenses and offenses cause a hardness of heart. I can’t allow hardness of heart to take over because I am accountable for what I know.
