KSSSHH! An unwelcome blast of static cut through the pleasant melody of my favorite radio station. Instinctively I reached over and twisted the volume knob down a couple of notches, waiting for a better signal. Rather than clearing up, the voice of an angry sounding radio commentator began interjecting loudly over top of the lyrics. After a few minutes of trying to listen to the song beneath the distracting cacophony, I clicked the radio off and drove in silence.
The radio reminded me that day how we live in a world that is ceaselessly competing for our attention. Smart phones, social media, television, entertainment, and the increasing availability of high-speed internet signals make it next to impossible to go anywhere without a constant barrage of messages, alerts, advertisements, or mindless distractions at our fingertips. These things are not bad in and of themselves but, like the undesired interruption on the radio, they can and often do make it more difficult for us to 'tune in' to God and His word.
When Jesus taught He often spoke in parables—simple stories about common things meant to illustrate spiritual truths. On several occasions, He ended these teachings with the phrase he who has ears to hear, let him hear. When asked by the disciples why He spoke in such a manner, Jesus replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand'" (Luke 8:10).
This concept of seeing without really seeing and hearing without actually hearing is repeated throughout Scripture: "But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear" (Deuteronomy 29:4), and, "He said, 'Go and tell this people: "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving." Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed'" (Isaiah 6:9–10).
Much can be said about why the word of God softens one heart and hardens another, but for those whose eyes and ears have been opened to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, these verses serve as a reminder to persist in seeking God's truth despite the myriad of distractions around us. Like fine-tuning a radio, we must be selective in what we're listening to and proactive in guarding our hearts against competing signals. Scripture encourages this, saying, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
Jesus' counsel to hear His words rings out in the book of Revelation as a clear call to those who already consider themselves believers: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). It is coupled with blessings to those who overcome, follows on the heels of various warnings against false teaching and spiritual apathy, and adorns encouragements to repent, remember and obey what we've heard, and endure in the midst of suffering.
Christ's emphasis on hearing is vital to His followers for one very important reason: The danger hidden in distraction is becoming more vulnerable to deception. And deception is the first step on the path to destruction. So how do we filter through the static of the world and the lies of the enemy and tune in to God's transmission of truth? How do we focus in the frenzy and compete against the chaos? The first answer is grace.
Paul tells us in his epistle to the Romans that faith comes from hearing the message through the word of Christ, but that some who heard it were hardened (Romans 10:17). He quotes God's words through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me" (v. 20). He goes on to reason that those who heard, then, were chosen by grace and not by works (vv. 5–6). Elsewhere he says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:10–11). So the sobering conclusion is this: We cannot make ourselves hear; it is a work of God's grace in our hearts.
The second answer to our question is relying on the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Spirit would be our "guide into all truth" (John 16:13) who would make known to us what belongs to Him and the Father. The Spirit, therefore, works in us in conjunction with God's truth—not our experiences, emotions, or human wisdom. It can be tempting to attribute a strong 'feeling' to the movement of the Spirit, but we must be diligent in bringing Spirit and Scripture together as the litmus test for any teaching, experience or emotion that may come our way. "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible" (Matthew 24:24).
The final answer to our question is discipline. God's grace is the initiator in correcting our spiritual blindness and deafness, but our efforts are the means by which sight and hearing are strengthened! We must keep to the mysterious middle line of Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility, and do the often difficult but exceedingly rewarding work of seeking God in faith. For "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
We must make it our practice to seek God by reading and studying His word, by praying, by being in fellowship with other believers and by remaining under sound teaching. We must do these works with all spiritual zeal while simultaneously avoiding the temptation to put our trust in them! The Bible says, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Philippians 2:12–13).
Believers must depend upon God's grace, but not presume upon it (Romans 6:15). We must rest in Christ's finished work, but do the good works God has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). And we must trust that His Spirit will reveal truth to our hearts, but do all that we can to minimize distraction, sift through the signals and tune in to that truth! For if we believe Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God, then let us declare as His disciples, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! (John 6:68).