Pastor’s Perspective: Do You Have Ears to Hear?

By Guest Columnist Spencer Sullivan, Pastor, Pelahatchie Baptist

Everyone loves a good story, right?  We love to engage and get lost in a great story, whether we’re reading or listening to a book or watching a show or a movie. But, sometimes, nothing beats listening to a great storyteller captivate you with the detailed delivery of a great story. Jesus was able to captivate audiences through a variety of means, but one way was through the telling of a story. The stories He told are called parables. The best definition I’ve read or heard for a parable is: a parable is an illustrative figure of speech made for comparison’s sake—and specifically for the purpose of teaching a spiritual lesson. Jesus never did anything without purpose and that includes the stories or parables He told. His parables were not for entertainment; they were a unique delivery method of a message that mattered.

The first recorded parable in the Gospels is often referred to as the Parable of the Sower. This parable or story is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I invite you to find and read both the story and Jesus’ explanation  (For example: Luke 8:4-15). While the Sower (evangelist) in the story plays the incredibly important role of spreading the seed (the Good News of Jesus), he is not the point of the story.  The story is all about the soil that he is planting in. Jesus describes four different soil types: pathway, rock or rocky, weedy or thorny, and good or fertile. I imagine this imagery resonates with many of you, especially those that plant gardens every spring, hoping for a harvest of beautiful and delicious vegetables. I tried my hand in it this year, but I’ve clearly got a lot to learn!  Why do my cucumbers look like that? Anyway, if you know the story or just read the story, you see that the different soil types Jesus described represent the different heart types of people that hear the Good News concerning Jesus Himself. The pathway soil type represents the hard heart. This person cannot or does not want to hear or receive the message of Jesus. The rock soil type represents the shallow heart. This person may initially show signs of receiving, yet there is no root or depth to their belief. So, when following Jesus produces difficulty, this person falls away. The weedy soil type represents the worldly heart. Like the shallow heart, this person may initially show signs of receiving the message of Jesus, but before long, the cares of the world reveal this person’s true allegiance. Obviously, the fourth soil is the good soil which represents the heart that is ready to receive the Word and then bear fruit for Jesus. The fruit is the critical indicator of whether the Gospel takes root in a person’s life, just like it is when planting a garden.  If nothing produces in your garden, then it didn’t take, right?

After telling the parable, Jesus said in verse 8: “As He said these things, He called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” My hope is that you have heard the Good News of Jesus. The Good News is that because of His unfailing love for sinful people (all of us!), He lived the life we could not live, died the death that we deserve, and overcame the enemy (Satan and death) that we could never overcome. But, merely hearing the Good News is not enough. Did you truly believe?  Did it take? Is there fruit in your life that only He can produce in you? Do you have ears to hear and a heart to receive and believe?  If not, may God prepare your heart so that you can hear and believe just like a farmer prepares the soil to plant in anticipation of a great harvest!