February 17 | Luke 8:19-21
- Pastor Dave Mann
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The Practice of God's Word
By Dave Mann
How we listen to the Word of God is crucial. Of course, coming to church to hear the Word of God is important. We need to expose our hearts to the truth of God’s Word. However, we also need to listen with the intent of putting it into practice in our lives. Jesus was so focused on this truth that he even redefined the term “family” to be those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice (v. 21).
Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a short parable about two builders (Luke 6:46-49). Those who hear the Word and put it into practice are like the builder who digs deep and constructs his foundation on the rock. Others hear the Word but leave it at that – no practice, no application. They are like the foolish builder who goes quick and shallow, building on the sand. When the storms and the floods come, the result is predictable – one building is washed away, and the other stands firm. The difference between the two builders is the application, the putting into practice, or not.
At the start of Luke 8, we hear Jesus’ parable of the sower who liberally spreads his seed over all manner of soil – the path, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil. In the same way, the Lord graciously shares his Word with the hearts of many predispositions. But only the hearts who hear the Word and put it into practice yield a good crop (Luke 8:1-15).
Even in the Old Testament, we find very similar words in Ezechiel 33:30-32, where the Lord warns the prophet not to be surprised when only some people hear the message and put it into practice. One wonders how many of Jesus’ followers had the words of Ezechiel 33 echoing in their minds as Jesus spoke.
More recently, we remember Martin Luther teaching on what disposition we should have when we come to church for worship. We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
So, how we listen to God’s Word is critically important. God earnestly desires that we ask his Spirit to make our “soil” receptive to his Word. In so doing, we confirm our place in his family of believers, as we put his Word into practice.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit, we earnestly ask you to open our spirits to your Word. We desire for your Word to take over our intents and lead us into the true practice of your Gospel in our lives, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVE MANN
I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.
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