Matthew 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
You may have heard the old joke about the guy who had a messy desk and someone says, “You know, a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.” To which he replies, “Then what does an empty desk mean?” Do you have an open mind? Do you have an empty head? Do you have a hard head? Who even defines this? What do you mean by the statement, “I have an open mind”? To whom is your mind open?
What you know depends on whom you hear. Everyone has ideas that have been conceived beforehand, preconceived notions. The question is, “Who determines those?” Years ago, my dad was talking to an atheist. My dad asked him, “Do you believe in absolutes?” The man replied, “Absolutely not!” We may smile when we hear that, but everyone is closed off to something and open to something else.
To what am I open? I don’t want to be so open-minded that my brains roll out. I don’t want to be empty- headed. I do want to be hard-headed for and open-minded to the truth. It is obvious that whoever defines what truth is defines whether I am open-minded or not. In short, what you know depends on whom you hear.
Mathew 13 is full of the parables of Jesus which are prefaced by the words, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Obviously He is not just talking about the things on the sides of your head. There is a connection here between ears, understanding, and your will. Everything you hear, see, perceive, or taste is identified in your brain. Your ears, for example, are just the conduit, and what opens or shuts that is your will. You see, we receive the truth by being open to it.
The Bible speaks of those who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” What good is that? They are saying, “I’m open-minded; I just don’t know.” Now, the smart person realizes what he doesn’t know, but I don’t want to be continually learning and never coming to any sort of conclusion about what is true. I know the truth by accepting what God has given.
Verse 9 says, “Who hath ears…” In other words, I need to be a good steward of what I have so I can get more. I need to hear with the ear. In verse 12 it says, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.” In other words, when I am a good steward with what truth I have, I’ll get more. When I discount what truth I have, whether it is great or small, I am going to be cut off from the truth.
I may not understand all that I want to understand, but I can understand more than I do right now if I have an open heart. Jesus said, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” Ultimately, knowing the truth begins with Jesus. He defines truth. We talk about “my truth” and “your truth” as if we possess it, but we do not. When we have ears and the truth and are good stewards of both, we will get more.
Are you open-minded? If the answer is yes, then the next question is, “To what are you open- minded?” To be open-minded to the truth means to be hard-headed against that which is false. The only way you can biblically define that is by being open to the Lord Jesus. What you know depends on whom you hear. May God help us to hear the truth by hearing Jesus today.