Shine
by Dan H.
Jesus told one parable after another. He often prefaced a parable with the phrase; “The Kingdom Of God is like...” Many times it left listeners scratching their heads in trying to figure it out. When he was talking about a lamp on a stand to the people in a lakeside sermon, the point may have dismayed many. What did the lamp represent and what was the measure he was using in referring to the lamp on a stand? He had told the disciples that they had been the secret of the Kingdom and parables were used to attract those who wanted to know. After each parable Jesus would explain the meaning to the disciples. To the casual observer this might seem strange? Why would he give the keys of the kingdom to his disciples and not to the gathering crowds who followed him?
Believers since that time have had the keys of the kingdom to pass on and Christianity spread exponentially through the known world. Even today people are receiving Jesus as Savior and given the “lamp” of the truth of the Gospel. Like those disciples who knew the truth and it changed their lives, believers’ lives are a lamp to a broken world. No longer is the secret of the kingdom immersed in a parable. It is the Gospel of Jesus displayed in the changing of broken lives, the forgiveness of sins, and kingdom living in a needy world. Now that would a powerful reason to bring the lamp of forgiveness out from under a bed of fear of rejection, lack of knowledge, or a comfortable complacency. There is a needy world out there.