You daydreaming again?

“Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” (Mark 4:24-25)

I remember being in the classroom as a kid, staring blankly at some object or view from the window, all the while daydreaming some big plan or fantasy in my mind. The teacher would be going on with some lesson in geometry, mathematics, or science, all while I was soaring through space in a rocket ship or sailing the blue seas in search of treasures. The imagination is a good thing when it helps us invent new things that help others, but it can be a distraction when it causes us to lose focus! 

Christ used parables to teach the people because they could relate to those objects or tasks. Sowing seed was common. Lighting a lamp at sundown was everyday practice. Don't be surprised when Jesus uses the most 'common' of things to teach you the biggest of lessons. It is how he helps us come to a place of understanding 'hard things' that are beyond our natural reasoning. As he promised, the closer we listen, the more understanding we will be given. There is no room for distraction when sitting at the feet of Jesus!

When I would turn my attention back to what the teacher was saying, sometimes because she'd pull that attention back with something she said, or just because I had come to an end of 'seeing' whatever had distracted me in the first place, I actually learned something. As my grandson sat talking with me the other day, I learned something new. He said WiFi ran on microwaves, but I had to explore that a bit because it didn't seem all that right. In the end, I found out it was radio waves. One spark of a conversation led to me looking a little deeper to find the truth. Don't be surprised when Jesus uses one spark of a conversation or a text from scripture to help us look a little deeper and discover just a little more about him.

To those who listen...those words are telling. We hear lots of stuff, but we probably only truly listen to about a tenth of what we hear. If that tenth is not what we are hearing at the feet of Jesus, we have a chance of trusting something that isn't true. His intent is to give us knowledge, but to gain knowledge, we must 'tune in', 'listen', and 'learn'. We don't gain understanding of kingdom principles through osmosis or accidentally. It is found through focused, purposeful learning. Just sayin!

My issues...do I have issues?

When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (Romans 2:1-4)

Too many times, we judge others for exactly the same things we do, say, or feel. It isn't that we don't know these things are wrong and that we shouldn't be engaging in those things ourselves, it is that we can see them best in others! Remember, the eyes focus outward - they don't look inward. We need some 'inward inspection' to point out that we are engaging in similar behavior. I suppose this is why God gave us his Holy Spirit to reside within each of us - so we could have that 'inward inspection' performed by someone who has our genuine best interests in mind.

They are wicked, but you are not without blame. They are probably doing things wrong, but so are you. You cannot 'judge' another, though. That is God's job and his alone. All we can do is pray for each other, holding each other up where we are weak, and live good examples that others can follow. God is kind toward each of us - not quick to judge or punish. He is not tolerant of our sin, but of our need to come to an end of our silliness and folly. He is patient with us because he knows some of us take just a bit longer to 'come around' to seeing our need for his grace and forgiveness than others of us might be at times.

The danger in always pointing out another's 'sinfulness' to them is that we are opening ourselves up for judgment ourselves. It may not come from others, but it will come from God. We need to understand that Christ's gift of grace is available for all mankind - even those we judge the harshest! We are asked to remain focused on what we don't see in ourselves - through the power of the Holy Spirit who resides within. This is all we can 'own' - it is all we are asked to 'own'. God's purpose is that we will each respond to his promptings to allow a 'clean up' of our own issues. Then we can be examples of his grace, kindness, and 'tolerance' to those around us. Just sayin!