Reflecting on Luke 8:16-18
“Therefore consider carefully how you listen.” (Luke 8:18)Jesus has just talked about good listening.
He used the analogy of soil (our hearts) receiving the seed (His message).
Good and noble hearts hear the message and produce a crop.
Now the analogy changes, but the meaning is the same.
The good crop is also like light that is visible for all to see.
It is goodness magnified, shining brightly, helping others see better.
That which we have inside of us will come out, it will be disclosed.
This is true for both good and for bad fruit or crops.
This is why we have to consider carefully how we listen.
An open, discerning and persevering mind will have good results.
But if we are not open, discerning, or persevering, we will lose wisdom.
We will become more foolish, more selfish, less beneficial to others.
What little good we have will be choked out by the weeds.
The goal is goodness, not just understanding truth.
Am I increasing in goodness, or good fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, etc.?
Am I shining more brightly with the good character of God?
If I cling to the goodness of God, it will grow in it and it will show.
If I do not cling to the of God, my darkness will also grow, and show.
The comfort in these words is that I can grow in the goodness of God.
Jesus is the goodness of God shining brightly, and that light can shine in me.
Jesus is the light of the world, but I can be too, with Him.
Like the moon, I can reflect His goodness to help others.
If I want to produce a good crop, I can do it with Jesus’s help.
This message does not make me a worm, totally corrupt and incapable.
My sincere, struggling yet seeking heart can be good and noble.
If I am open, discerning and persevering, good will come of it.
The conviction is not about bad fruit, but weak listening.
How am I listening to the message of Jesus?
“The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)
The absence of fruit is not the problem, but the result of the problem.
The problem is in me, my lack of desire or effort to have His goodness.
“Whoever does not have” refers to those who do not have the desire or effort.
Whoever does have the desire to grow in goodness, will grow in goodness.
Whoever does not have the desire to grow in goodness, will not grow in goodness.
They will not shine brightly, but the darkness within will be revealed.
Jesus is gently calling me to listen more actively.
The focus is not on increasing information, but on experiencing transformation.
Bible study is not the goal, bible knowledge is not the harvest.
Listening to Jesus, putting it into practice and producing goodness is.
Like many Christians, I have heard the message of Jesus for years.
Sunday after Sunday I hear the message, but am I retaining it?
Am I growing in it, so that it is resulting in increasing goodness?
It is not the absence of goodness, but the absence of effort that is the problem.
Our confidence is in Jesus, but we need to work at growing with, like and for Jesus.
Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.
Salvation is a free gift, but we need to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13).
“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)
Am I making every effort to listen, retain and live out the goodness of Jesus?
Am I possessing the good qualities of Jesus in increasing measure?
Am I ineffective and unproductive in my relationship with Jesus?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am capable of more goodness if I desire it. I can possess Your good qualities in increasing measure, if I want to. Help me to move beyond just hearing with my ears. Help me to hear with my heart, and to actively pursue and practice the kind of goodness You demonstrated for us.