Mark 4:22(NIV)
“For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.”
In Mark 4:22, our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was teaching about the Kingdom of God, because he wants us to know what the Kingdom of God is like. In the preceding verse, Jesus asked, “Should a candle be brought into a place to be put under a basket or under a bed and not to be set on a candlestick?” Of course not! No one having right mind would hide a candle under anything. A candle is meant to illuminate and bring light so that things hidden are exposed and so that darkness is dispelled. Such a bright and glorious thing as light is never meant to be hidden, but rather it is placed out in the open so that others may see the glory of it and come into the light themselves.
When I was a kid, like many youngsters, I didn’t like being in the dark at bedtime. So much so, that I would ask my older sister to sing me a song so that I would hurry off to sleep and not have to face the darkness. I was afraid as a little girl that anything could happen to me in the dark. And because I couldn’t see in the dark, I couldn’t really know what was happening, couldn’t stop it, and couldn’t defend myself against it. I understood, even at a young age, that ultimately, darkness is powerlessness.
In darkness, what isn’t there can be just as painful as what is. It is a terrible place to be and many people are aching because they don’t realize that our God has a life-changing solution for darkness and powerlessness through the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is that it’s not just those who are lost and don’t know Jesus Christ that are feeling the torment of darkness. Many that are believers and have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are suffering in torment as well. They feel as though no one understands their pain and they want to experience the joy of the light of Christ in a very real way. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and continually knocks. The question before all of us is ‘will we let him in?”
Darkness represents the absence of light. In Mark 4:22, Jesus Christ said the thing that is hidden is meant to be disclosed. Nothing can be hidden from our Heavenly Father. He knows everything, and He knows the deep things of our hearts. One of the reasons why we experience so much pain is that we want hidden things to remain that way, but healing comes when these things are exposed to the love of God. Jesus Christ said in John 8:12(NLT), “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Our blessed Lord isn’t going to put us on blast, that isn’t what he means when he tells us that hidden things will come to light. He is really extending an invitation for us to allow his light access to every part of our being, because he knows exactly what we need, and he wants us to be the lights God has made us to be.
1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) says, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” We are not without responsibility and duty as sons and daughters of God. We have an obligation as children of the light to walk in the light. When you walk in the sunshine on a beautiful sunny day, you allow yourself to soak it up and take it in. It is exactly the same with the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Mark 4:23-24, he tells us how to soak in his light. He commands us to listen and pay close attention to what we hear from him, because the closer we listen, the more understanding we’ll be given. In verse 25, he said that for those that are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. So, listening to God’s Word with an intention and attention to hear and understand is an important part of letting God’s love and light in our hearts.
Colossians 1:13 tells us that God rescued us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. We have already been rescued from darkness. No more wandering around, not knowing where to go or what to do. We serve a living God and a risen Savior, and his Spirit lives on the inside of us. Philippians 2:15(NLT) tells us to “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” God would not tell us to do something that He didn’t equip us to do. We have to see ourselves as bright lights shining in a world of darkness and continue to follow God’s Word so that our lights never dim.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Out of Darkness and into The Light” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
