For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Mark 4:22,23
Just like you, we have our everyday dishes in the kitchen. We eat on them day in, day out. We originally bought them from a discount kitchen supply store. They are sturdy, and when one of them gets dropped or broken, no one gets upset. They get used for everything from a snack to a big meal.
But we have separate dishes for when company comes over. They are a little bit more colorful and fancier then our everyday dishes. There is even some history to them. They were passed down from Mary Ann’s great aunt, so they are older and look the part.
But Mary Ann changed things up one day. She said that we should start using her great aunt’s dishes as our everyday dishes. When I asked why, she said that dishes weren’t made to be hidden. They were meant to be used, so we should use them. And so we have.
Some things are hidden, put away and out of sight, because they are precious. But that doesn’t mean that you never bring them out. Precious things were meant to be seen, used at some time, in some way.
Precious things are hidden, but don’t stay hidden forever. You’re supposed to bring them out. You hide things so you can unhide them. You put things away so you can bring them out into the light for people to see and use.
You put something away so that you can see it again, and then share it by showing it to others. Short-term hiding is just that, short term. It’s never supposed to be there forever. It’s to be taken out and shown. The hiding is a means to an end. Whoever’s in charge of a secret is also given responsibility of revealing it at the right time, in the right way, at the right place.
And once it’s brought out, we’re supposed to pay attention. It wasn’t brought out by accident. The hidden thing didn’t just jump out by itself. It was revealed so people could see it, learn from it, enjoy it, use it.
The point is, the people Jesus was talking to had ears. The whole point of having hears is to hear. Ears aren’t there to hold up your glasses. Ears aren’t there to provide a natural place for your hair to part on the side of your head. And ears definitely aren’t there for older brothers to grab and pull you off the ground with.
When Jesus tells us to hear, he’s not just simply telling us to use them. It’s more intense than that. We need to not just hear when we want, we need to be constantly in the process of hearing. Jesus is telling us to be continually hearing right here, right now. Not later. Not when convenient. Now.
God is warning us against that epidemic that is sweeping our country. If not the entire planet. It’s infectious, insidious, and influences just about everyone.
Selective hearing is the dreaded disease that is deeply hurting our families, friendships, communities. When we only hear what we want, everything else it pushed aside like so many lima beans on your plate that you didn’t ask for. Selective hearing refuses to hear things that we don’t want to hear. It turns away from considering facts that don’t agree with our view of reality.
So, how are you doing with your ears? Are they working? But more importantly, are they working well? Are they, and you, open to information and proclamations from God?
Are your ears directly “plugged into” the part in your brain where you decide what to do, and then do it? Are you ears open to what God says is the truth, the way he made us and the world? When, not if, but when he speaks, are we ready to receive our marching orders and move out?
We have a friend that has more than wax in her ears. She has anger, hurt, bitterness, and pain in her life and ears. It doesn’t matter at this point what anyone says. You could come with the greatest, most logical argument possible. You could quote all the Scripture you wanted, all day long. And, as one person put it, if Jesus himself were to appear and talk with her, she’d refuse to hear.
At this point, she’s not willing to let Doctor Jesus in to clean out the messy infection that has taken over her life. She’s holding onto her pain like a frightened puppy, and she’s not open to trusting anyone ever again.
I don’t know about you, but I can really identify with her. I’ve been in a very similar place in my life. I had ears but wasn’t willing to hear. I tuned God out, afraid that if I did something different that I’d feel that hurt all over again.
But God is merciful. His loving kindness is right there for the asking. And his healing will repair what has been painfully broken. But we have to be willing to hear, receive his forgiveness, and then walk with him.
So, how are your ears doing? Are you willing to let God into the hidden parts of your life?
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