Dead Batteries

 

And he [Jesus] said to them, “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.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 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.” (Mark 4:21-25 ESV).

 

We keep flashlights in various places throughout the house. Thunderstporms in our part of Texas are common. With that also comes the potential temporary lapse of electricity. My favorite is a rechargeable, adjustable beam flashlight that I keep near the back door. I must confess that I am sometimes forgetful about keeping it charged. Not long ago we had some visitors who did not realize that one of our dogs was a “darter.” The gate was only open for a moment, but out she went and began to run down the street. I grabbed my flashlight and out I went to find her. The battery was very low on charge, and it was of little use. Fortunately, I had another light with fresh batteries.

 

I wonder if sometimes we are like that too. We want to be a light for the world, but our batteries are dead or missing, or we haven’t plugged in our lamp. In this parable Jesus points out that we don’t bring a lamp into a room to cover it up. The lamp is there to brighten the room and to show us things that we need to pay attention to.

 

Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher in his day, once said, “The Bible is not the light of the world; it is the light of the church. But the world does not read the Bible; the world reads Christians! You are the light of the world.”

 

Today, let your light shine. No more hiding. Be the lamp that illuminates Jesus to the world. Keep your batteries charged!