How's Your Hearing?

Hearing and Doing. There's often a disconnect between those two things, isn't there? Sure, you may hear the words, “Take out the trash” or “Clean the bathroom” all day long. But actually getting up and doing it's another matter altogether, isn't it?

That's what our passage today from Luke 8 is really about. Hearing and Doing the word of God. And the main point boils down to what Jesus says at the very end, verse 21: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

In other words, if you want to belong to Christ's family, it's not enough simply to hear his words and think happy thoughts about them. No. His word has to grip you in such a way that you both hear it and do it—both believe it and practice it....