Mark 4:21-25
21 He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?
22 For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.
23 Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear."
24 He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.
25 To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
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God gives us light. What do we do with it? Do we use it all?
Do we hide it away and use it in secret, but outwardly remain the same as we have always been, because we're worried about what other people think? That was me for years. I came to love the light, but I'd keep it for myself, and I didn't spend much time sharing the life with others.
Do we only let a certain few see the light? Those we are comfortable with?
Or do we let the light shine, without worry about who sees it and what they think?
In my opinion, that's the target. The city on the hill. The lamp in the lampstand. No bushel baskets. My bushel basket comes out when I feel the need to fit in with people, and when I'm worried about what they might think of me. It happens most with people I've known for a long time -- people who knew me before Christ started to drastically change my life. That includes my own brothers and sisters at times.
I need to throw the bushel basket away.
