The Discipline of Paying Attention
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. (Matthew 13:19)
There is a life that is so much better than the best life you can ever imagine. This life is a life lived in the kingdom of God. It’s a life of grace, a sheer gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ. But this life is not given to you on a silver platter. There is effort involved, a discipline. As Dallas Willard would always say, “Grace is not against effort; it is against earning.” So, in the same way, experiencing this kind of life requires effort on your part. Just like anything new, and good, it would require a choice. You must first choose to live in a different way, not by your own effort, of course, but by His power working in and through you by His grace. This requires faith, you trusting God that, as you obey Him, His power will enable you to desire and to do what pleases Him. This is God’s wisdom. Now the first discipline to begin this process is the discipline of paying attention. When you don’t pay attention to anything, you will miss everything. So the key to experiencing a different kind of life is to pay attention to what the Lord is teaching you about His kingdom. Again, this requires effort because there are so many things that can distract your mind. Just because you have ears does not mean that you can hear. Hearing God requires disciplined effort. You must exert the effort to pay attention to whatever God is teaching you by whatever means He is using to communicate with you. If you don’t discipline yourself in this regard, Satan will snatch whatever truth the Lord is trying to instill in your soul. So guard your soul. Focus your heart and mind to what He may be teaching you at anytime. For example, just now, what is He teaching you? Write it down. Develop the habit of taking down notes of what He is teaching you. This is the first discipline, the discipline of paying attention. Shalom! (PB)