My Corner Online

 

Reading through the Gospels 81

Mark 4:21-23

 

Mark 4:21-23 A LAMP UNDER A BASKET

Jesus told another parable.

 

Jesus said, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." The "lamp" is God's Word, the Bible. This "lamp" is not me.  The Bible is not about me, but about God, yet how often I try to make it about me.  However, as a Christian, Jesus's light, God's Word, shines through me.  It should not be hidden. Self-check: "Am I ever reluctant to let others know I am Christian?" Manifest means to "display or show by one's acts or appearance; to demonstrate." I am not to hide or keep secret God's Word or my faith, but rather to share it by my actions and demonstrations on display for others to see. God did not light my lamp for me to keep it hidden, but rather to beam it from a stand.

 

I try to imagine even a small lamp under a basket.  Either the basket is really large or the lamp is really small.  Similarly, a lamp that is under a bed must be very small.  Only small lights are easily hidden.  How big is faith that it is easily hidden? When God comes again, he will bring to light the hidden things of this earth. 

 

A lamp in Bible times would have been an oil lamp.  An oil lamp under a bed or a basket would be dangerous.

 

I note the words, "brought in" and think about a lamp being brought into a home and how that would mean that the lamp is new, as if someone has just brought God's Word into the home and instead of hiding the Bible under a bed or under a basket out of embarrassment, lays it on a table for all to see.

 

This parable continues on the next page.