I sounds like a cliché, but it is true for my husband. Very often, he will be looking for something in the pantry or the refrigerator or the closet and not find it. He asks for help, insisting that he looked “everywhere,” but it’s just not there. I stop what I’m doing and come over to help him even though I’m sure it’s there. Sure enough, within five seconds of my starting to look for it, I find it. I point to it and say, “It’s right there.” He grumbles, perplexed as to why he didn’t see it. I tell him, “Next time, look with your eyes.”

Now I know my husband has eyes. And I know he was using them when he was searching. But he wasn’t actually using his brain that much. He was looking but not seeing. He was looking at the items on the shelf, but they weren’t registering in his brain. Maybe he was distracted by the project he was working on, or tired, or thinking about something else.

Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.” (Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

Several times in the Bible, we hear something like, “Whoever has ears, listen!” In this verse Jesus is speaking to a crowd to whom He has been preaching in parables.

Now, Jesus knows everyone in the crowd has ears, and that they are listening to Him preach using those ears. But Jesus also understands our tendency to look without seeing and to listen without hearing.

Jesus tells his audience to hear what He’s saying because it’s important. And the meaning may seem hidden at first. But if we turn our full attention to His words, open our hearts, and focus on everything He’s saying, the meaning will become clear, pertinent, and valuable.

Dear God, thank you so much for your word. It is pertinent and oh so valuable. I’m sorry for the times when I read it without paying attention to what you are saying. Forgive me for being so easily distracted by the busyness of life and rushing through my time with you. Give me the ability to truly see you, hear you, and understand today.