Hearing Isn’t the Same as Listening
Today’s reading took me through Matthew 13 and Luke 8, and one line in Luke caught my attention: “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them” (Luke 8:18, NLT).
The difference between hearing and listening is subtle but important. Hearing is automatic—our ears pick up sound whether we want them to or not. Listening, though, requires focus, effort, and an openness to process what’s being said. Jesus seems to be highlighting that distinction. It’s not enough to simply hear the words; what matters is the quality of attention and engagement.
Seeds, Soils, and Short Attention Spans
In both Matthew 13 and Luke 8, the parable of the sower is told. Seeds are scattered, but not all of them grow. Some fall on a path and get eaten by birds. Some land on rocky soil, where they sprout quickly but don’t last. Some fall among thorns and get choked out. Others land on good soil and thrive. The story isn’t just about seeds—it’s about what happens after the words are heard. Do they stick, take root, and grow, or do they get lost in distraction, difficulty, or shallow reception?
This raises a practical question: what makes listening hard? One possibility is that we’re usually distracted. Much like the seed among thorns, modern life is crowded with competing voices—work obligations, endless notifications, personal worries. Another challenge is our own assumptions. If we think we already know what’s being said, we may stop listening closely. In that sense, the warning in Luke 8:18 is almost psychological: without active listening, even the knowledge we think we have can slip away.
Stories That Stick (If You’re Really Listening)
I also noticed that both passages present listening as active rather than passive. Listening is not just sitting quietly while someone talks; it’s a kind of engagement that requires reflection, memory, and sometimes even change. The parables themselves reinforce this. They are stories designed to provoke questions rather than provide direct answers. That means the listener has to wrestle with meaning, to stay present long after the words have been spoken.
I find it interesting that Jesus used storytelling rather than clear instructions. Stories invite interpretation, and interpretation demands a deeper kind of listening. In some ways, the parables test the soil of the listener’s mind. Will the story take root and spark growth, or will it pass by as just another sound?
Listening Beyond the Text
Thinking about this in everyday terms, I realize how rare it is to truly listen. In conversations, it’s easy to plan what to say next instead of fully focusing on the other person’s words. In learning, it’s tempting to skim rather than slow down. Maybe the idea in these passages isn’t just about spiritual teaching but about the human challenge of listening itself.
So the question lingers: how do we move from simply hearing to truly listening? The text doesn’t give a clear checklist, but it does suggest that listening well has lasting consequences—like fertile soil that turns a seed into something alive.