Mark 4:21-23 (NKJV) 21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
In Acts 10:34, Peter is marveling at the fact that God has revealed to him that there is now no difference between the Jews and the Gentiles. The statement he makes is that God shows no partiality. In the Original King James it says he is not a respecter of persons. We see this idea in Paul’s writings. He says there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free nor male and female (Gal 2:28.) In Colossians 3 he adds there is no difference between Jews or barbarians. He says in verse 11 that “Christ is all and in all.
Mark chapter 4 beginning in verse 13 is one of my favorite teachings in the Bible. In verse 20 of this teaching, he says that some of the “seed of God’s Word” fell on good ground. All were good ground, yet some produced thirtyfold, some sixtyfold and some a hundredfold. If we all have the same potential, why do there seem to be degrees of production? It says they all heard the Word, they all accepted it and they all bore fruit. What caused the degrees?
Keep in mind that this parable is in the context of farming. He is telling us that of the seed sown in each field, each farmer produced a different percentage of possible crop yield per the number of seeds sown. To simplify the calculations, let us put in some numbers. If they all sowed 1000 seeds one got 300 plants, one got 600 and one got a plant for every seed or 1000 plants. The question is why. Every farmer, Christian, had the same potential. They were all good ground!
In this teaching Jesus spends a good deal of time speaking about ground that was not good. It is obvious that whatever degree we allow ourselves to be bad ground, can affect our percentages in the above illustration of 1000 seeds. However, verse 20 is a change in this teaching. Verse 20 is focusing only on those who are good ground. I believe we all do have some bad ground mixed with the good, but Jesus has moved on from that. If I am good ground, how can I produce a hundredfold instead of 30, 60 or any number in between? I believe he gives us some keys in the next section of his teaching.
There are preachers that I like to follow. There are wonderful Christian stories I have read about people who did great things for God. We might say that God made them hundredfold people and we must understand that we just cannot expect to have those kinds of results. As I said in my last post, that will not work if God is no respecter of persons and does not show partiality. I may not do the same things I read about, but I can produce the same kind of faith to deal with the responsibilities and challenges of my life. I have the same potential. I do not have to settle for 30 or 60. In the context of my life I can produce a hundredfold of the power available from the seeds of the Word I plant. What determines how much of that potential I will release?
Verse 20 speaks of good ground and three degrees of production from it. Verse 26 begins explanations of related parables. However, it is reasonable to say that verses 21-25 are still talking about those who Jesus called “good ground. Could it be that he is explaining to us why some were producing thirtyfold, some sixty and some one hundred? I believe they do. Let us take a look at what Jesus says.
Verse 21 is an interesting place to start. What could making sure a lamp is out in the open have to do with getting the greatest amount out of our potential. This is a rhetorical question of course. Who turns on a light in a room and then covers it up? The purpose of the lamp is to light the room. I may like my lamp. Part of why I have that particular lamp may be to add a certain decor to the room. However, in the end it is a lamp. It is there so that I can see the details of my room in the dark. You do not turn it on and then throw a blanket over it.
The potential in our lives flows from the Word of God. One of the reasons we all have the same potential is that we all have the same Word in the Bible. That is why the Bible is so important to a Christian. There are differences in interpretation and translation, but it is still the same Word to all of us. There is another scripture that is pertinent here from the Old Testament.
Psalm 119:130 (NKJV) 130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
This fits perfectly with Jesus’ teaching. In Mark 4, He is talking about sowing the Word of God into the hearts of man. The entrance of the Word gives us light. If we cover a light, the room remains in darkness. If we want to be able to see, we must allow the light to be unhindered. It must have access to every corner of the room.
What will limit the release of my potential in God? If I want to produce a hundredfold, I must allow the light of the Word of God unhindered access to my life. I must allow it to change my perceptions. I must allow it to illuminate the things that I do not want to see, not just what I like. He says that the seed of the Word of God is meant to reveal everything. Nothing can be kept secret. We must allow the Word to shine into the darkest corners of our lives and when it does, we must be willing to change. The degree that we will allow the light to control our thinking and, by extension, our perceptions and behavior will be the degree of production we will see. This is not limited to 30, 60 or 100. Pick any number. If we allow the light to control only tenfold, we will be tenfold producers. If we allow the light to control a hundredfold, we produce a hundredfold.
This seems simple, but it is not easy. I love the Word. I love to find the nuggets of truth. I like to find out what the words mean. I like to find connections and patterns in the Bible that show the flow of a truth. When I see what the light is revealing it is often a little harder to say, “I guess I have to change. The light is showing me that I am seeing something incorrectly. I have been living in the darkness, but now I see the light.” If I will not order my life according to that truth, I will get no fruit from it.
There is a revealing scripture in James that can help us see what Jesus is saying.
James 1:22-25 (NKJV) 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
I may look into the mirror of the Word of God and see great potential. If I do not adjust what does not look right according to the light, I will leave the house in an interesting state. If I look into that “perfect law of liberty” and make the necessary adjustments to my views, my conduct and everything else the light can reveal, I will be productive in my life. The question is will we respond to what we see at a level of thirtyfold, sixtyfold or one hundredfold. That is up to you and me. We all have the same potential.
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