“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. Mark 4:3 (English Standard Version, ESV)

Here, Jesus tells us of two learning techniques: listening and beholding (or looking).

Listen:

If we listen more than we talk, we will learn more. We need to be quick to hear and slow to speak so we are more alert and aware of what God is saying; what He is trying to teach us. Without listening to God and to other people, we will not learn, we will not be informed, and we will live in ignorance. We will not know what to do, but we may think that we do.

The more we listen to God, the more truth we can hear and will not be deceived. We will be able to discern the truth from a lie. God has given us natural ears to hear, communicate, and function in the natural world. He has also given us spiritual ears to hear God and His Word to communicate and function in the spiritual realm.

Look:

Just as we have natural and spiritual ears, we also have both natural and spiritual eyes. We have natural eyes to operate in the natural realm and spiritual eyes to function in the spiritual realm. As we keep our spiritual eyes open, God will show us things from His Word and by His Spirit.

The more we watch and look for God, the more He will show up- the more He will manifest and show Himself strong in our lives.

As we listen to and look into God’s Word, He will tell us and show us how to apply the Word to our lives. He’ll inform us how to love people and be be sensitive to their needs. He will give us ears to hear and eyes to see. we are to listen and learn as well as look and learn. As we do these two things, we can grow in how to walk in the Word and in the Spirit. We will grow, line upon line, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. We will learn our lessons along the way as we are open to the Holy Spirit, our Teacher. He will teach us life lessons as we listen and look to Him, one day at a time.