Out Of This World Rate of Return

Years ago I read about parents who wanted to be financially generous with their adult son, but not so generous that it would remove his need to work and earn his own income.  They decided to give their son $2 for every $1 he earned through his own employment.  If the son earned $3500 a month, they wrote him a check for $7000.

Any gift he received was first contingent on his own effort.

Mark 4:24 tells us God’s economy can work in a similar way when it comes to our attentiveness to and understanding of the truth.

Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. NLT

God rewards our attentiveness to His Word with more understanding of it.  That is a very nice return on our investment.

You may have seen this happen in your life if:

·      You read a verse or passage of Scripture that you’ve read before, but this time you feel like you get more out of it

·      Whether you remember the reference or not, relevant Scripture comes to mind at different times during a ‘regular’ day

·      You think of a verse that may encourage a family member or friend based on something they’ve shared with you

·      You more easily recognize lyrics in praise and worship songs as parts of Scripture

·      Something you read in your Bible reminds you of a similar passage another place in the Bible

Everyone is different so they are different ways people use to ‘pay close attention’.  For some:

·      Decreasing reading speed increases reading comprehension. 

·      Meditating on a verse or two by thinking about each key word individually in the verse(s) and what it means to the verse is helpful.

·      Paraphrasing the verse(s) in your own words makes it resonate more.

·      Using a concordance or Biblegateway.com to find and read other verses with the same key words adds to the impact of what is being read

·      Inserting your own name or personal pronouns into the text as you read it makes it feel more applicable

Whatever methods you use to pay attention to the written Word of God, Mark 4:24 tells us we are making an investment that generates a great rate of return guaranteed by the very author of those words.