Ask, Seek, Knock..

"The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ " Matthew 13:10

“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.” Matthew 13:13-17

"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable." Matthew 13:34

Why didn't Jesus speak in a more direct way?

Jesus resists being clear and direct. It's rare for Jesus to ever answer a question directly. His answers invoke more questions, involve stories, and are full of metaphors. Jesus chooses mystery over clarity. This undoubtedly conjures up confusion and frustration. WHY would Jesus do this??

I believe Jesus gives us and respects our free will. Parables and stories don’t coerce us into an understanding of Jesus or a relationship with Jesus. They respect our free will, our dignity, and leaves us free to discover, ask more questions, seek answers, and ultimately choose for ourselves.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, Seek, Knock..

However the process of asking, seeking, and knocking involves periods of waiting, patience, desire, persistence, frustration, and silence. We cling to the promise that when we ask, seek, and knock, that the door will be opened (verse 8). What’s painful is that it may take a while. (Psalm 77)

I've come to the conclusion that there are no easy answers or obvious explanations. Maybe that why I've always been told that the Bible is the living word of God. You can revisit scripture time and time again and because there are layers upon layers built into Jesus’ teachings. Not just one answer or one explanation.

Jesus requires us to continually depend on him and not in our independent thinking. He desires us to hear with our ears, see with our eyes, and understand with our hearts. And to do that we need to:

Ask, Seek, Knock..