listen… listen… listen…

I don’t know if I would’ve seen it… had I not been teaching teens…

Which is exactly what amazes me in the calling to teach…

Just how much He reveals to those willing to share Him with others…

I don’t know how accurate the teaching is when compared with other translations…

But it certainly speaks to me…

Makes perfect sense really…

And reflects what I have experienced…

“…To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. …” –Jesus

Matthew 13:12 NLT

The Greek translated as listen… in the New Living Translation… is translated in other versions as… has… i.e. …to the one who has… more will be given…

The original Greek…

echo… 1 to have, i.e. to hold 1A to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing… to hold fast, keep…

–Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon

Do you see an English word in the Greek…?

Echo…

Yes… it means to hold fast… keep… wear… and we know what an echo is… the exact sound coming back off something which has received it…

And isn’t that exactly what we expect when we tell someone to listen…?

I told the unsuspecting teen… Stand up…

He looked questioningly… You want me to stand…?

Are you listening…?

And he stood… echoing my words with his actions…

Echo…

When it comes to the Word… those who have… are those who listen… those who wear the Word… speak it back to Him through obedience…

Echo…

I think it’s my new favorite word when it comes to understanding His Word and the lesson in the verse…

Those who listen to My teaching… more understanding will be given…

Do you find yourself having trouble understanding His Word…?

Ask yourself… Am I listening…?

Does your life echo His Word through obedience…? are you making His Word flesh…? even when it doesn’t make sense to you…?

Because what I’ve found is… understanding… insight… revelation… come after faith-full obedience…

The verse is part of Jesus’s explanation of why He teaches in parables…

And He says those who listen… who have the Word… who obey His teaching… will be given even more understanding…

Do you want to understand…?

LISTEN… LISTEN… LISTEN…

Don’t stop listening… keep praying… stay in His Word… keep obeying to the best of your understanding… and you will be blessed… with more…

Echo… what you know… back to Him…

In turn… He will teach you even more…

He calls me to teach teens…

I echo His call by teaching…

In turn… He reveals even more…

Amen and Amen…!