The Living Word

Matthew 13:10-17

“10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

15For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

I’ve grownup with access to the Bible; it was never hard to find one if I looked, I grew up hearing scriptures without even wanting to but what has really hit me is how western Christians don’t realize how sacred and valuable it is to have access to the Word of God. I’ve heard the above parable and plenty others more time than I can count but my heart never heard them until just recently. The bible says it so clearly in Matthew 13:13 “You will indeed hear but never understand”. How true is that for the western world today? We read all these verses in the bible but we never take them to heart. These are Jesus words spoken to us, spoken for us so that we may know Him better. His word is there to draw us closer to Him, help us understand Him better and to help us live the life he originally intended us to live yet we throw it around (figuratively) and twist it to use it as a way to make us feel good about ourselves. I use to roll my eyes every time someone would reference a verse or I would just take the verse for face value but the bible is His living word! That means that it can speak t you, obviously not literarily but it can speak to your heart! I’ve begun to realize that there are so many people in this world that don’t have access to the bible! How can I sit around ignoring the best book ever written while others cling to any verse people will recite to them?

Another thing that has really fueled my passion for reading the bible is realizing that as you read the bible in order or at least books at a time, you are able to see the context therefore helping the words come to life and make more sense. There are too many people who manipulate the word of God to benefit them. When you start to read the full context of stories it make parables like the one above come to life! As I’ve read the word more and more I feel myself become more and more confident in who God is and also more confident in being able to call out and recognize false teachings. When people quote a piece out of a parable I can now connect where that came form and who Jesus was speaking to when he said that! It is so easy to think that the word is contradicting but when you know the context of what was happening when God said things it helps it make so much sense; it no longer seems conflicting.  

The word of God is a gift from our Father, lets appreciate it. I challenge you to pray that God will make the words come to life to you each time you open the bible and I challenge you to stick to reading one book in order for the next week. The more you read it, the more exciting it gets! I’ve been working my way through Matthew the past few weeks and it is SO MUCH FUN! I had no idea how much fun it would be when I began but as I began to see how the parables all linked up it made it so fun. I transformed from a boring old book with a bunch of rules into a book full of amazing stories and life. Once again, feel free to contact me if about any questions you have about God or even what I am doing! I pray that God uses my words to reach you and set a fire in your soul so that God can transform you!