Questions, Questions, Questions

By Matt

I feel for ya, Ben. I slept 9 hours last night and I'm still yawning! You'll be in Matt's prayers though :)

1. "What do you make of this?" (Matthew 13:3) - This is how Jesus introduces the parable of the variable terrain: road, gravel, weeds, and good earth. It's interseting because he doesn't explain it until much later. This is a case of Jesus wanting us to think for ourselves before he just gives us an answer, a reminder that loving God completely involves loving him with our brains.
2. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" (Matthew 13:9) - I think you can say that when this phrase shows up in The Message, we're meant to be paying attention. Check. And this is definitely a very important story. It reminds us that we are one of those types of ground primarily, but at different times we choose to be different types of ground. We need to choose to be good ground if we expect to get anywhere. And, as leaders, we need to recognize those whom we lead as being different types ground and not all of our seeds are going to fall on the fertile. Which is why we must keep on sowing, even when it feels futile.
3. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" (Matthew 13:43) - Here's this question again! It comes right after Jesus spends considerable time hinting at the Kingdom. I say hinting because it is not an explicity explanation. It's just traces here, glimpses there. Putting them together we might come close, but we're not going to get anywhere if we don't listen at all.