Jesus said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Mark 4:24-25

Jesus’ exhortation is for us to pay attention to what we hear and learn.

I think his exhortation is faithfulness to what we hear. And we show ourselves to be faithful listeners by doing appropriately and responsively.

This passage is challenging because I find that I suffer from the syndrome of knowing too much by obeying too little.

I cannot live under the illusion that to know something is to be found faithful with that knowledge. But rather, I desire to to pull myself to the simple reading of scripture and to obey what I see and hear.

Jesus wants radical followers not lazy scholars of his word.