“Understand With Your Heart And Turn To The LORD…!”

“Understand With Your Heart And Turn To The LORD…!”(Mt.13:10-17).
It is said that King Croesus of Lydia wanted to wage war against Persia. He went and consulted the great Oracle of Delhi. The Oracle told him that by going to war, the king would destroy a great empire. The king understood the Oracle to be an assurance of victory. However, when he attacked Persia, his empire fell. He came back to the Oracle and asked why the Oracle deceived him. The Oracle told him, “I told you that by going to war, you would destroy a great empire which you have just done.”
The language of deities is often couched in ambiguity. It is the language of doublespeak, most times needing an explanation for it to be understood.
African oracles are much more prone to doublespeak.
The Bible itself is a book full of doublespeak, and this explains why some of us often ignorantly see ambiguities as contradictions. Figurative languages, including proverbs, riddles, parables, and prophecies, are in more times than less ambiguous.
According to the Lord Jesus Christ somethings of God are intentionally hidden in parables so that only a few chosen can understand; except it is interpreted to them. Matthew says after the parable of the sower, the disciples wanted to know why he spoke to the people in parables. But Luke says, “His disciples asked him what this parable meant”(8:9). While the “why” in Matthew suggests that the disciples might have understood the meaning of the parable, the “meant” in Luke means they themselves did not understand the parable.
According to Jesus, spiritual truths are couched in parables so that only the spiritually discerning can understand its meaning. Even so, the apostles were still ignorant of some of the meanings. Jesus spoke in parables in fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy that the people will hear but never understand, they will be seeing but not perceiving because their hearts have “become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
The moment we understand God’s word with our hearts, we make a U-turn to him and receive healing from him.
Nevertheless, we all are like the first African Christian. While we read the scriptures, we may not understand what we are reading unless someone explains to us(Acts 8:26-39).
May the Holy Spirit help us to see with our eyes, to hear with our ears, understand with our hearts and turn to the LORD for healing and restoration – physically, emotionally, mentally, politically, socially, economically and spiritually. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
21/02/2026.