Growing up, one of my favorite games to play was hide-and-seek. It is one of those timeless games that kids have played for generations. We all know the premise of the game is to hide in the best possible place, so the seeker cannot find you. We want to leave no evidence of where we are hiding. In our scripture passage today, we find Jesus using an illustration of hiding with deep theological implications. As we dive into this passage, I want to focus on 2 things as we examine why our lives are not to be hidden but to shine for the Lord Jesus.
Let Your Life Shine!
If you are familiar with Disney’s Movie Moana, you have heard the song “Shiny.” In that song, the Giant Crab desires to be Shiny and let the sea see his brightness. For us as Christians, it is the direct opposite. We want the light of Jesus to shine through us and let our fleshly desires be put to the back or hidden. We are to let Christ rule and reign over all areas of our lives. We are to let the LIGHT of Jesus shine brightly.
As I think about that, something comes to mind that I believe we all need to remember. Our relationship with Jesus is personal, but it is not hidden. How we live our lives should point people to Christ and His Word. We do not hide our relationship with Jesus from others. Unashamedly, every area of our life is to shine for Christ, and in that, the hidden treasure of the gospel will shine brightly to the world.
Another aspect we need to consider with the idea of letting the gospel light shine through us is that doing so exposes sin. And one of the reasons that the world hates the gospel and Christians is that they love sin. Before Christ, we were in the same boat as them. Not only did we sin, but we loved the sin that had a hold on us. We were blind to the reality of sin, just as those who are now outside of Christ are blind to the reality of sin. It was only when the gospel light appeared in our lives and exposed our sin that we understood the reality of what sin does to us. As Christians, our lives are to be lanterns for the gospel, revealing the ugliness of sin in the world.
Pay Attention with those Spiritual Ears!
Jesus says, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He is not talking about physical ears here, but the spiritual ears of the mind. We need wisdom to hear and understand what is being said. That wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit, and we are listening with open ears to the work and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus goes on to say in verse 24 that when we pay attention to what has been given to us. The more that we use wisdom and hearing, the more that will be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The more that we hear, the more we are responsible for our lives. So, the deeper we dive into scripture, the more we should know and understand. For example, Adam in the Garden of Eden was given very little information about the Messiah to come, so he was only responsible for that little knowledge. On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah had significantly more information, which meant he was held to greater responsibility. It is the same way with us. The more we study, the more the Lord reveals to us, and the more we are responsible for sharing with others.
Some would say, then, I want limited knowledge because I don’t want the responsibility of great knowledge. The problem is that Jesus addresses that in verse 25. “For to the one who has more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Doing nothing doesn’t mean no responsibility. It means ultimately losing what we have. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees’ knowledge here. They should have had deep knowledge of scripture and the coming Messiah, but what they had was a deep passion for the law, not for God. Ultimately, the responsibility and control they had been stripped of were now in the hands of the disciples. And that responsibility of passing the message of the Kingdom has been passed down throughout the ages to the church, and it is our great responsibility to share Christ with all that we encounter.
Conclusion:
As believers in Christ, you and I are responsible for letting our light shine for Christ. And as we let our light shine for Christ, we are to grow deeper in our knowledge and wisdom of scripture. We need to realize that we never arrive in our spiritual journey, but we are to continue down the road of discipleship. And as we continue down that road of discipleship, we are sharing with others what God is teaching us. The light of the Word will shine brighter, the more we spend with Him. So, my challenge to all of us is, let our Light Shine brightly for the Lord Jesus!
Leave a Reply