And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? Mark 4:21
Why would anybody place a light under a bushel basket, or under a bed? A light is to allow us to see where we are going and what we are doing, and if the light is hidden, we can’t see where to go or what to do, and neither can somebody else. If our light is our testimony for our Lord, we should never hide it. But there are three possible reasons why we might.
Firstly, we might hide our light if we are doing something that we don’t want anybody to find out. Sin in a believer’s life will stifle the light that is in us. We won’t be interested in witnessing for our Lord, or even in being in the company of other believers. Sadly, hiding the light doesn’t diminish the sin, and it doesn’t diminish the damage we do to ourselves and others because of our sin.
Secondly, we might hide our light if the light becomes inconvenient. There are places we might want to go or activities that we might want to participate in that are inappropriate for a child of God. If people there knew we were Christians, they would mock us and mock our Lord. So we hide our light, and think we are doing OK. But we are not. It can be inconvenient for us to use our time to attend Assembly meetings, to visit sick folks, and to pray and read our Bible daily.
Thirdly, we might hide our light if it is going to cost us to keep it burning. Remember how Matthew had to give up a good civil service job in order to follow Jesus. Letting our light shine will always be costly. What we have to do as Christians is accept that the cost for letting our light shine is better than the cost of hiding it under the bushel.
The only way to hide a light under a bushel basket is if the basket is empty and upside down. In other words, the basket is useless. No good is every accomplished by hiding our light, even if it seems embarrassing, inconvenient, or costly. Hiding our light makes the basket of our life useless for God and useless for ourselves. Hiding our light under a bed is even more wasteful, because a bed is for sleep, and those who spend too much time there are lazy. Never in our Bible do we find God calling on lazy people to do His work. Faith’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 is filled with people who knew how to use the most hours of the day for good and for God.
The light of the glorious Gospel of Christ has shined into our souls (2 Corinthians 4:4). Let us live it out in our lives for His glory, for all to see. -Jim MacIntosh