Let it Shine! (Mark 4:21,22)

“If it’s going to be another book study I don’t think I’ll come. I don’t want to just gain more knowledge.” With those words our conversation ended. However, what was said stayed with me. I understood the meaning behind my friend's words.

A study of God’s Word just to gain more information or knowledge would be like the hidden lamp Jesus spoke of in His parable. The lamps in Jesus’ day were not like candles that consumed themselves in order to produce light. For a lamp to give light, it must first be filled with oil and then lit. However, once it’s filled with oil and lit, it wouldn’t make sense to put that lamp under a basket or a bed! In the same way, to study the Word of God and then to not act on it is equally futile.

The Jordan River is the source for two large lakes in Israel, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. However, there is a vast difference between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. They both have the same source, but only the Sea of Galilee has an outlet. Whatever enters the Dead Sea stays in the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is full of fish and plant life; the Dead Sea is stagnant and lifeless. The comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea reminds me of the difference between a lamp hidden and a lamp placed on a lamp stand.

Jesus said,”Isn’t it (the lamp) to be put on a lamp stand?”(Mark 4:21) It isn’t enough to simply study to be filled with truth, to be filled with the Spirit. It isn’t enough. It isn’t even enough to be set on fire, to encounter the light of the world. A lamp has a purpose, and that purpose is to give light.

I finished teaching the book of Mark to three different groups, and yet I didn’t feel satisfied. I wanted to go deeper. I wanted to write about how I was being impacted by the life of Jesus. Yet, at the same time, I felt filled with self-doubt. Who was I to undertake such a project! I also was convicted by my friend's words. Was there really any value to what I was doing? Then I came to this parable, and like a little child I began to sing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”