Real Hope: Learning to ListenSample

How To Listen

Listening is important. It could be described as audible vision. Accurate, clear listening is as important as accurate, clear speech. We’re taught to be careful as to what we listen to, but in this verse, Jesus challenges us to be careful as to how we listen. The ‘how’ we listen can describe both our predisposition and our eagerness to hear.

An ear or a heart, which is predisposed to hear, is one that has the appropriate respect, honour, and devotion to the person who’s speaking. And so, true followers of Jesus tend to ‘hang on His every word’ as though every word has meaning and value. But there are some who devalue both the person and teachings of Jesus, and so, although they hear, they get nothing.

Careful listening involves an eager heart wanting to add truth to truth and insight to insight. Jesus says in the verse above – ‘Whoever has will be given more.’ That is, if you listen correctly what you have learnt will continually be added to. Conversely – ‘whoever does not have, even what they think they have, will be taken from them.’ Paul writes to Timothy about such people who are ‘always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (2 Timothy 3:7 NIV).

Jesus offers an opportunity in the verse in Luke to position ourselves, spiritually and attitudinally, to hear enough to understand and grow in our knowledge of the truth and of Him and His ways. Let us clearly see and hear God’s vision of the future and eagerly partner with Him to see it unfold.

Written by JOHN SCOTT