Read Mark 4:21-25.
Jesus’ teaching wasn’t always clear, and he knew it. After all, he said he spoke in parables for a reason. Yet, this time, he really did expect his disciples to grasp the meaning. He’d been talking about sowing seed. Thankfully, he took the time to explain it to them.
They must have wondered why he would share such wonderful truths, if the people were not going to understand them. That’s why he said a lamp’s light is meant to be seen, not hidden, and…
if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
God’s truth has not been hidden from the world, but proclaimed, since the beginning of time. The problem was, people were not listening. They were hearing, but with deaf ears, caused by hardened hearts.
That’s why he told his followers to “consider carefully what you hear.” He had not only spoken the truth of God through the parable, but even went so far as to explain it to them. They had received even more and would be without excuse for not hearing.
The question was, what would they do with what they heard? He told them that “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and even more.” What does that mean?
It means the same for you and me as it did for those disciples — we have the truth, the whole truth, in Christ and in God’s Word. We are responsible for sharing the truth we’ve received from God. If not, what we’ve received will be taken from us.
This is a hard teaching for me, as it forces me to ask myself the question: “Am I sharing what I hear from God’s Word with others or keeping it to myself?” When the Spirit speaks to my heart about a particular passage, am I acting on it and sharing it with another?
What happens to a light when you put it under a bowl? It dies for lack of oxygen.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine as I share the Good News of Christ Jesus with those who have yet to hear.
How’s your hearing?