For a long time I asked myself why Jesus taught with parables. If he had a lot to say, why didn’t He just come out and say it? But his illustrations force us to think deeply. If we are to experience His kingdom, we need to see the unseen, expecting what may not be normally expected. The upside down view of life has little to do with cultural standards of power or possession acquisition. I want to have my eyes open to what He may demonstrate and ears open listen for His voice.
“Jesus ended the parable of the sower with the exhortation “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” (Mark 4:9). The statement told the people that there was more to what he was saying than a good story. It was Jesus asking, “Did you get it?” Jesus wanted the people to “get it.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford
“Many Christians default to the lesser, more accessible joys of our culture. But the more we saturate ourselves with earthly pleasures, the more pickled our minds become, sitting and soaking in worldly wants to the point we hardly know what our souls need. We then interpret the loan approval, job promotion, and home team victory as glorious blessings sent from On High. But are they?
Jesus has in mind deeper blessings god us. They aren’t so much ‘physical’, like the blessings of the Old Testament - bounteous harvests, abundant rains, and quivers full of children. Jesus takes a different approach. He locates blessings closer to pain and suffering. In His most famous sermon, He lists the following blessings: empty handed spiritual poverty, a heavy heart with sorrow, a lowly and forgiving spirit, eschewing sin, and experiencing persecution (Matthew 5:3-10) (28, The Practice of the Presence of Jesus, Joni Earekson Tada
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