| Mark 4:12 – “so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” |
How well do you see?
As we get older, it grows more difficult. Most of us develop something that when brought into English means “old eyes.”
It’s the feeling that you need to grow arms to a 12-foot length to see anything.
And then, cataracts cloud vision.
Seeing is one of the senses that brings in so much.
We see the motion of clouds and the azure sky.
We see a child’s smile, which reminds us of the good in the world.
One character in English literature is known to most. His name is Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes was a character created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Most think he was in all of his books. The truth is he makes an appearance in only four of Doyle’s 45 novels.
Holmes has a partner named John Watson.
On one unexpected visit to Watson’s home, Holmes told his friend: “You’ve been getting very wet lately, and your servant girl is clumsy and careless.”
Watson was dumbfounded. How did Holmes know such things? He told him he had observed his shoes. His shoe was by the fire drying, and on it were scrapes on the leather where the assistant had hurriedly scraped mud from the shoe.
Watson asked the basic question: How did Holmes know what seems obvious once said, but is so easily overlooked?
Watson said, “I think my eyes are as good as yours.” To this, Holmes agreed.
Then Holmes went on, “You see, but you do not observe.” He asked Watson how many steps were in the staircase, and he could not answer, even though he had climbed them many times.
“You have not observed,” said Holmes. “And yet, you have seen.”
Many times, it is not what our mind sees that is crucial but what our heart observes.
In Mark 4, Jesus finished a series of parables.
The stories were easy enough to understand—seeds in ground and other common sights around the Palestinian countryside.
Yet his disciples knew there was more than just “let me tell you a story.” It was really, “let me tell you a truth.”
So, they asked, “Why do you speak in parables?”
His answer was profoundly prophetic: “so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” (Mark 4:12, NIV)
The problem with spiritual truths is that you have to have the eyes to see past the physical to the spiritual. Without seeing the truth, you can never know God.
So today, ask yourself, “How well do I see?”
- Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
