Nothing is hidden that will not become evident

Luke 8:4-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. ¹² Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴ The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

¹⁶ “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

¹⁹ And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Luke 8:17, from today’s text has been often quoted regarding what people expect to be revealed about the current darkness and deceit in our society. Nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.  The hope of many is that the Lord, who certainly can, will reveal truth, bringing evidence to dispel what has been hidden. In the context, Jesus said:  “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light… So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”  In Matthew 5, Jesus also spoke of a light on a lampstand. In Verses 13-16 He says:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   Perhaps the reason that things are able to hide in the darkness and we are having things taken from us is that we, as followers of Christ, have failed to be salt and light. Salt was used not only as a seasoning, but also as a preservative. The church, as salt, should be what dictates the savor and flavor or the essence of the culture. It should be what preserves that which is good. It is believers who should shine the light of righteousness in the darkness of the world so that darkness will not only be revealed, but dispelled. We are called to shine our good works in the darkness of the world that people would glorify God in heaven.

Isaiah 5:20 says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!   Surely, we are seeing this in nearly every aspect of our society; in politics, in the media, in entertainment and in much of our education curriculum. How are we, as believers, to respond?  We cannot allow ourselves to engage in the division, hatred and violence of the culture. We also though should not just sit back and hide.  Romans 12:21 says:   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Again, considering the context, how do we overcome evil with good?  Romans 12:9-20 says:  Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”   Contrary to what the world says, that our love should cause us to accept, tolerate and even embrace what God calls evil, that would be hypocrisy. We should detest what is evil and cling to what is good.  When it says: Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people, it does not mean that we respect what all people see as right, but rather we respect what is right, so that all people will see. We are to be at peace with people, not with evil. Since we are not to take our own revenge, we need to understand that the burning coals that we heap on the head of our enemies are not for their pain or destruction, rather they are like the coal in Isaiah 6:5-6:  Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.”  Through our love and good works, we are to touch them with coals from the altar of sacrifice, that they might see the Lord and be forgiven.

The text says:  “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.  The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” 

May the seed of God’s word find good soil in your heart. May you bear fruit and be salt and light to the world. May we together not be overcome by evil. But may we overcome evil with good. Amen.