Make A Perception Check?

If you are into Role-Playing Games (RPGs), you most likely have heard the phrase "Make a perception check!" from your Game Master's mouth.  For those of you who are not accustomed to this phrase, allow me to explain. A perception check in these types of games are for your character to be able to assess what is going on around them.  This is likely to see if there are any threats that might be an issue or to get a better understanding of what is going on in the environment around the player. It is often used to try and find details in the world so that the player is able to advance not just themselves, but their team on quests. How does this connect to the Bible you may ask?

When we read about Jesus in His ministry, there are these strange moments where he would reveal a great truth to the crowd around him, but it was in the form of parables (stories with a lesson in them). In Matthew 13:9 Jesus shares a parable and follows it up by saying, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." Now the disciples are a bit perplexed as this is not the first time Jesus has done this and are wondering, why He is talking this way to the people? Jesus responds that it is really looking for those who are listening to His teachings and those who are not. By sharing these truths in parables, it is like Jesus saying "Make a perception check on what is happening in your heart when you hear my teachings."

Really, this is the question we are asked each time we pick up a Bible.  When we read and start processing something in the Bible that tugs at our heart or maybe is a challenge for us to take in
. Let's take up that question and honestly do some perception checks in our heart and lives so that we can better listen and understand what God's word is saying to us!

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