Measuring.

Mark 4:24-25
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Be careful when you read the Bible; you just may learn something! How many times have you heard these verses? Once, twice, three hundred times? Think now, what was the context in which you heard them? Was it a forgiveness sermon? Or was it a giving sermon? Those are pretty much the only two times I’ve ever heard these scriptures used. It’s usually “how you forgive is how God will forgive” or “if you’re generous with your giving, God will be generous with His giving”.

Same old, same old, right? Do good, get good: do bad, get bad. That’s the law of life. It’s what you’re supposed to believe. That’s exactly what Jesus was trying to teach when He said these words. His entire message revolved around what you could do to earn God’s blessing or curses. Seriously, folks, isn’t that the gospel?

Obviously, I’m being extremely sarcastic here. That’s not at all what Jesus’ message was. I realized while reading these verses today that whenever they are used in church there are five little words omitted (or overlooked). Those words are “Take heed what you hear.” These words are of great importance as they pertain to the rest of the verse. The subject of the passage is the measure by which you hear, not give or forgive. If you choose to hear only a little bit of Jesus, then you will only be given a little bit of Jesus. But if you choose to inundate your ears with Jesus, then you will be overwhelmed by His presence and influence on your life.

Sadly, Jesus warns of the bleak outlook for those who choose to ignore what they have heard. These are the ones who do not have, and even what little they do have will be taken away. What do they not have? They have heard but not listened. Because they have chosen to ignore His speaking in their lives (either through a friend, neighbor, or some other form of evangelism), they will lose their lives.

How do I know this? Because Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life...” Since He is life, then a rejection of Him means that life will be taken away. For those of us who have heard, who have accepted, more will be given. More what? More grace, abundance, healing, prosperity, favor; more life. But for those who have not, the grace that they have had will be taken away. The prosperity they enjoyed will vanish. The life that they had will end in death. (Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)

So what are we to do? As Christians we have opportunities on a daily basis to speak Jesus into the ears of those who surround us. We haven’t been commissioned to tell them how to fix their lives, correct their deviant behaviors, or raise their children. We have been commissioned to bring the Good News, that is, Jesus. (Matthew 28:19)

So, take heed what you hear! And, once you do, share what you hear with others who need to hear the same thing. Marvel as the grace, favor, and abundant life are given to you as promised, more and more and more!