April 3

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

—MATTHEW 13:14

I was taught as a child that parables were earthly stories with heavenly meanings. There is, of course, some truth in that. However, to see parables only as an aid to understanding would not take into account what Jesus said about them.

What Jesus said to His disciples is that His parables will confuse those who are not His disciples and only enlighten those who are. He goes on to quote from Isaiah saying: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding … For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes” (Matthew 13:14-15).

It is important to note that any lack of understanding was not due to the teacher but the hearer. Jesus was not teasing them with deliberate confusion, but pointing out that the confusion was a symptom of something fundamentally at fault within the hearer. Our capacity to understand spiritual truth is not intellectual capacity but amoral disposition towards God. And the fundamental prerequisite to understanding the things of the Spirit is alignment with the Spirit Himself.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12 Paul says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” In relationship with Jesus Christ, we are born again of His Spirit, and it is His Spirit who opens our eyes to the truths of Scripture and gives us understanding. The man without the Spirit, Paul says, does not accept the things of God. They are foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned.

How is our relationship with God? Are we bringing Him into every part of our lives and spending time in His Word? Do we have a quiet place where we can be alone with Him and do we listen for His voice?

How to hear God is by the Spirit of God and the deeper our relationship is with Him, the deeper our understanding and communion with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, the more I spend time with You, the more You reveal. Thank You for your Spirit that lives in me and brings me to a greater understanding of your Word.

TO REFLECT UPON: Do I have that quiet, secret place where I meet with God?