Mark 4:24-25

‘And he said to them, “Be careful what you hear. With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more shall be given to you. For to him who has, to him will be given, and he who has not, from him will be taken away even that which he has.” ’

‘Be careful what you hear.’ Luke 8:18 has ‘be careful how you hear’. But the meaning is much the same. What Jesus is saying in Mark is that they must be discerning, they must ensure that they listen and respond only to the truth, that they must be careful what they hear, and to do this they will have to be careful how they hear.

‘With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more shall be given to you.’ If they measure the words of Jesus genuinely and sincerely, receiving them, understanding them, appreciating them and fully responding to them, God will respond equally genuinely and sincerely. Indeed they will receive more than full measure. God will respond abundantly. To him who has will more be given. But if they do not receive and understand and fully respond they will lose even what they have, for it will be taken away from them. God is not satisfied with half measures and half response.