Read: Matthew 13:1-9
He who has ears, let him hear. (v. 9)
Every letter in Revelation 2–3 concludes with this: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus added something similar to his parable of the sower. It’s not enough simply to hear the Word of God; the Word must take root in our lives and produce lasting fruit.
But doesn’t everyone with ears hear? I’ve noticed something as I have aged and my hearing has degraded. When you don’t quite catch a comment, you get tired of saying, “Huh? What did you say?” or, “Could you repeat that?” So you just ignore what was said and hope it wasn’t too important.
Jesus is not warning people who are hard of hearing; he’s warning people who are good at ignoring. Don’t do that with God’s Word. Don’t let it go in one ear and out the other. Rather, respond to it: do what it’s asking you to do. Believe what the Word promises and do what it commands. If we do that, we will live.
These devotions opened with John’s beatitude: “Blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written” (Rev. 1:3). We conclude with Miles Smith’s beatitude for the readers of the King James Bible: “A blessed thing it is, and will bring us to everlasting blessedness in the end, when God speaks to us, to listen; when he sets his Word before us, to read it; when he stretches out his hand and calls, to answer, ‘Here am I; here we are to do your will, O God.’ ” —David Bast
As you pray, offer yourself to do God’s will.
About the Author
Rev. Dave Bast retired as the President and Broadcast Minister of Words of Hope in January 2017, after 23 years with the ministry. Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. He is the author of several devotional books. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he has also studied at both the Fuller and Calvin seminaries. Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and four grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
