Parables?

Good Morning,

Matthew 13:10-17 (NIV)
The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Do you see the parallels that I do, even from those days over 2,000 years ago until this very day and age? Jesus talks to His disciples and explains why people don't see what is right before their eyes nor do they hear the loud voice speaking directly to them and their hearts simply refuse to comprehend or perceive or understand what is so clearly being explained to them.

So, I would ask: What's changed from those days when Jesus walked and spoke until today? My answer is: Not much!

Those very same kinds of people that were alive then are still around today. Those whose hearts have become hardened, who cannot hear what's being said, and refuse to see what is right before their eyes. However, let's not overlook what Jesus DOES offer to them when He says that if they would see and hear and understand, He would heal them. Pretty simple isn't it? I mean, to you and I, perhaps, who are among the blessed because we see and hear and are willing to understand. Not so simple or easy to understand to those who will simply NOT pay attention to what we have in our lives and how much it could also mean to them in theirs.

Yes, we are among the very, very blessed. We have made the choice to accept Jesus into our lives and our hearts and our minds as Lord and Savior. In this, we are able to see clearly, hear what is being said, and to understand it in ways that the "people" simply do not...cannot...because of their refusal to be open to the calling of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

One last thing. Just because we read here that there are those who simply refuse to see, hear, and understand, that does NOT mean that we who DO understand shouldn't continue trying to reach them. Remember, there are some who will, by the grace of God, open their eyes and ears and understand in their hearts what is being offered from a loving, caring God. Let's don't give up in our efforts to reach the lost.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David