LIFE SCRIPTS

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
Mark 4:21‭-‬25 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.21-25.NIV.

Christ continued with His parables by unveiling another one: the parable of the lamp on the stand. This parable at first seems to allude to letting our light shine before men. But it seems to carry a much more weightier message than this. It’s about bringing into the open that which is concealed. That’s what light does. It exposes what’s hidden. However when that same light is placed in an enclosed space, it loses its power. Our lives make sense to others when we choose to live in the light. For our love to be true, we must let them see the light in us. Light functions best in the open. But not only that, light chases away darkness. When we allow the light in us to shine, darkness around us will be confounded. The things that bring darkness to our families and societies will be exposed and dealt with. A person having faith in Christ has light. That light is change by itself. That light, when allowed to shine, chases away all darkness. But from verse 23 onwards, Christ seems to embark on a different set of argument all together. He talks of the ‘measure’ we use will also be used on us. He doesn’t elaborate further but one thing’s clear: we’ll be subjected to the same scrutiny we subject others to. Conversely, we’ll receive the same kind of reward we choose to bless others with. Weights and measures are not just terms used in the market. The book of Proverbs is rich with related examples. Our call is to do to others what we would like them to do to us. The bottom line is loving people. But Christ brings a different angle to things from verse 25 …whoever has will be given more but whoever doesn’t even the little they have will be taken away. We must remember the context… Christ had been talking about putting our light on the table for all to see. However, when some of us look at our past, we don’t see much light there. In fact some of us even struggle to shine out our light even till this day. However, Christ is calling on us to make use of the light in us. To shine it for all to see. It doesn’t matter how little it is. When we make use of what God has given us, He’ll bless us with more. Remember the parable of the talents. They all were granted talents in accordance to their abilities. When they made use of them, the talents not only multiplied but the owner added more to them. God has given us abilities, skills, interests and talents. Do we make use of them? Do we use the ‘little’ we have to glorify God? If we do, it won’t be little but much…a lot…abundant. God will be glorified and increase us. He will bless us.