Thoughts for another day

October 30, 2008.

Today's verse: Mt. 13:13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Why are we on this reflection today? I believe God wants us to get to desire Him deep inside rather than on the surface. Most Christians, I discover, hate it when asked for credentials to prove they’re Christian. The usual refrain is, I go to church so therefore I am a Christian. So can anyone else no? Does that make them Christian any more than it does you? Then others will talk about baptism and other sacraments and catechism classes, etc. To all this, the answer is, so what?

There are others who can go through the rigmarole and pretend to be Christian isn’t it? You think what I am saying is nonsense. I don’t, because Jesus mentions something pretty complicated here and that’s the crux of it. Try and understand this, if you may; He says, I speak to them in parables…now that would make it difficult to understand no? You bet it is, (we’ll come back to this) then why does He speak in parables? And then Jesus says, they see, yet they don’t see! And they hear, yet they do not understand! Now what on earth is this…they have eyes yet can’t see, and ears, yet can’t hear! Seems a bit puzzling.

You know, Christianity is a state of living. When your heart pulls you in the direction of Christian living, it is open to the teachings of Christ. You slowly tend to understand things like, ‘if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out!!!’ You will understand that in God’s presence even a stain of sin is anathema to God and you yourself will want to cast off that part in you which causes you to sin. Our problem is that we are not willing to give to God all that we are because we still relish those parts in us which God dislikes. Therefore, we turn a deaf ear to God’s messages, clinging to our own thoughts on the matter. Hence, we do not understand things so simple as ‘seed that fell on good ground, growing to fetch a 30-60-100 fold…’ and the context in which it is said!’

An open heart will ensure that Jesus speaks to you clearly and that you need to keep His Words however difficult they be. What a wonderful thing if every Christian would do this, then would the Lord say, ‘I spoke and you heard, I showed and you saw, now enter your Father’s house.’