Day Seventeen: Hidden Light (Mark 4:21-25)
Devotional: Imagine someone buying a really expensive lamp. The most expensive lamp in the store. And they get home and plug it in. And then… they put the lit lamp underneath their bed and leave it there. Ridiculous, right? We’d say that person is “Two fries short of a Happy Meal”. But that’s essentially what Jesus is describing in today’s passage. Someone who puts the lamp under the bed or basket.
Jesus told a similar parable in Matthew 5: 14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Now the metaphor of the “light” in Matthew 5 is a little different than the “lamp” Jesus mentions in Mark 4. The “light” in Matthew 5 is referring to the good works in the life of a follower of Jesus. The “lamp” in Mark 4 is Jesus Himself! But they are connected. A person who lets Jesus shine in their life is a person who will produce good works that shine before mankind.
So is Jesus on full display in our lives? Or is He “hidden under the bed”? Would the people we work with say that Jesus shines brightly in us, in the way we work and in our attitude and in the way we treat others? How about our family, do they see Jesus in the way we live and love? Or would those around us be surprised to hear that we’re followers of Jesus? Hard but important questions to ask ourselves.
In the passage Jesus says something curious, “… with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you” (v. 24). What does Jesus mean here? It means that the more you let Jesus be on display in your life, the more power He will demonstrate in your life. Hide Him and there will be very little of His power in your life.
Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (v. 25). This does not mean possessions. Well, kinda, it means how much possession of your life will you give Jesus? The more you give Him, the more blessings He adds to your life. Give Him little of you, and little of His blessings will you discover. What a promise we have from Jesus. If you let Him, He will shine brightly in and through your life. Isn’t that the point of the “Lamp"?
Prayer: Is there an area of your life where you have not allowed Jesus to shine? Write it on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you will see it each day. Each day this week, take a flashlight and shine it on the paper and take a moment to pray that God would help you let Jesus shine in that area.
Devotional: Imagine someone buying a really expensive lamp. The most expensive lamp in the store. And they get home and plug it in. And then… they put the lit lamp underneath their bed and leave it there. Ridiculous, right? We’d say that person is “Two fries short of a Happy Meal”. But that’s essentially what Jesus is describing in today’s passage. Someone who puts the lamp under the bed or basket.
Jesus told a similar parable in Matthew 5: 14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Now the metaphor of the “light” in Matthew 5 is a little different than the “lamp” Jesus mentions in Mark 4. The “light” in Matthew 5 is referring to the good works in the life of a follower of Jesus. The “lamp” in Mark 4 is Jesus Himself! But they are connected. A person who lets Jesus shine in their life is a person who will produce good works that shine before mankind.
So is Jesus on full display in our lives? Or is He “hidden under the bed”? Would the people we work with say that Jesus shines brightly in us, in the way we work and in our attitude and in the way we treat others? How about our family, do they see Jesus in the way we live and love? Or would those around us be surprised to hear that we’re followers of Jesus? Hard but important questions to ask ourselves.
In the passage Jesus says something curious, “… with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you” (v. 24). What does Jesus mean here? It means that the more you let Jesus be on display in your life, the more power He will demonstrate in your life. Hide Him and there will be very little of His power in your life.
Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (v. 25). This does not mean possessions. Well, kinda, it means how much possession of your life will you give Jesus? The more you give Him, the more blessings He adds to your life. Give Him little of you, and little of His blessings will you discover. What a promise we have from Jesus. If you let Him, He will shine brightly in and through your life. Isn’t that the point of the “Lamp"?
Prayer: Is there an area of your life where you have not allowed Jesus to shine? Write it on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you will see it each day. Each day this week, take a flashlight and shine it on the paper and take a moment to pray that God would help you let Jesus shine in that area.
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