February 4, 2016: Day 32 – Mark 4

I have to admit that there are times that I am watching a golf tournament on TV and I see a player get an 8 on a hole and there is something in me that celebrates.  “Hey, I can do that!”  It is a similar feeling that I get when I read the very last verse of this chapter where after Jesus calms the storm the disciples look to each other and say: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  Just the fact that the disciples themselves didn’t know exactly who Jesus was or what he was capable of gives me a bit of a peace of mind in those times when I’m unsure of what God’s plans are or in what direction God is leading.  If the disciples didn’t understand Jesus and they were living with him, then I guess it is okay to not completely know the will of God in every single situation in my life.

We see once again the parable of the sower and the seed and Jesus explains it explicitly, yet once again, to his disciples in chapter 4 of Mark.  If you wanted to compare Matthew and Mark you can do that if you turn to Matthew 13.  We find, as we will throughout Mark, that this Gospel writer is much more succinct.  What Mark does include, which Matthew doesn’t in association with this parable, is the song: This Little Light of Mine.  Okay, Mark doesn’t actually include the song but he does give the basis for that song.  Starting at vs. 21 we are told that a light is not to be hid under a bushel.  But even more importantly Jesus says that nothing will ever remain hidden.

Just think about those words for a moment.  Think of when you arrive in heaven and Jesus replays a movie of your life and your mom is sitting right there next to you.  What parts of that movie are you going to squirm and really wish your mom weren’t there?  That has always been an intriguing analogy for me.  Can we apply this verse to the present?  Are we able to say that all will be revealed in our lifetime?  I strongly believe that if we continue to do that which God calls us to do, and there are people around us that are somewhat sketchy and not doing that which ought to be done, eventually that will be found out.  It provides an inner peace knowing that God knows all and that all will be brought to the light, even in our lifetime.