Those Who Have Ears

Scripture: And he 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.” Mark 4:21-23

Observation: The parable of the lampstand is clear - if you have the light of truth, you do not hide it away, but rather you keep it out and visible in order to provide that light to others. The 'hidden' lessons Jesus teaches through parables are not done so to remain hidden, but rather they are done so to educate so the disciples may make them known to others. However, verse 23 is interesting ... who is supposed to have ears in order to hear? There are two possible explanations:

1) When the disciples grow in their understanding, they will then be able to understand and pass along the knowledge.

2) When the disciples go forward to teach, there will be some people who choose to listen, and conversely therefore there will be some who choose not to listen.

As with the seeds, our job is to spread the seed, cast the light, and make the truth known ... others will decide if they listen or not.

Application: My wife showed me today a painful Facebook post. It was on the City of Bothell's wall. Our city is about to have the grand opening of its new city hall. The post was from a person chastising the city because ... my church is providing free music and free refreshments for the event.

We serve our city. We live in an area where over 80% of people self-identify as non-Christian, and our church shines our light by constantly serving our community. As a result, the city asked us to help them out, and we said "yes" ... free of charge, out of our own time and pocket for dozens of volunteers. And people are ... pissed off that the city would even TALK to a church.

How extremely sad it is to see first-hand what it looks like when disciples shine the light of Jesus, and people actively refuse and reject it. We aren't even there preaching or talking about Jesus ... we are handing out coffee and donuts, and playing four secular songs, all with smiles on our face, love in our hearts, and not cost to taxpayers. And someone is mad about it.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for the man who posted this today. Please give him "ears" for the very first time ... please find some way for him to hear something that opens his heart to love. This is all about a person who has rejected you, and seeks validation for his wayward decision. He is far from grace, far from love, far from joy. I hope somehow, someone, somewhere will show him your light. Also, I pray for our church volunteers working the event. May there be no issues, but if there are comments made directly, please be with us in spirit to reflect kindness, patience, peace, and love. Amen.