Message: It isn’t enough for me to just read the word. I have to ponder it and let it teach me something or else it just becomes a checklist item. When Jesus spoke in the parables he was very clear that he was doing it intentionally because the crowds were not pursuing the truth. He told his disciples that the hidden mysteries of the word were only for those who were listening and looking for it.
Command: I need to be listening and looking for the hidden truths in the word.
Promise: If I am listening and looking with purpose when I read the word, God will show me the hidden truths.
Warning: If I am just reading for the sake of reading I will get out of it just that. The danger in this is that I can eventually become hardened to it and not even realize I am drifting until it’s too late.
Application: This is a reminder to me to be intentional and to dig in deep when I read. As I read the different parables I saw that I have been each one of those things from one time to another. The danger in this is that in each of these scenarios the seeds were in the right place for planting. Because of the state they were in they didn’t retain the word and it didn’t take root in their lives. This could be true of me even while I actively read the word if I’m not allowing it to come in and change me.
