…or “Hear then the parable of the sower.”  Jesus spends a lot of time teaching the disciples the difference between those who hear and understand and those who hear and think they understand.  And as Jesus unpacks the parable of the sower for us a bunny trail of if-then unfolds – consequences to not UNDERSTANDING what the WORD:

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart;

What came to my mind’s eye was this television commercial – a ridiculous bunny trail of consequences resulting from an initial clueless, unengaged, not intentional choice of one product over another. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7udQSHWpL88

Don’t wake up in a roadside ditch…here’s how you get there, says the commercial.

And Jesus?  I think it goes like this, “Don’t just pretend to listen to me, don’t imitate me and think its enough, be intentional and engaged.  Otherwise?  Well, you’ll end up falling away (Mt 13:21) or you’ll choke on the lure of wealth and yield nothing (Mt 13:22).  Bottom line?  In a ditch.”