Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put ...under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

A 'Messy Church' leader once told me what happened when they looked at the story of the lamp, which appears in slightly different forms in Matthew and Luke's Gospels, and with different meanings. The parents and children enjoyed creating paper banners with pictures of lamps on pedestals, and under beds, and words like "Shine for Jesus" and other slogans. Then the group talked about the meaning of the words from Mark's Gospel. Jesus says that God knows all our thoughts and actions and one day we shall be judged for them. At this point a small voice piped up saying, indignantly "God won't know what I am thinking - when I hide behind the door!"

Young children can react to Psalm 139 in the same way, with its mention that God knows us from before our birth to our death and to the grave. We have to accept that young children are still at a stage when they think in concrete terms! The important thing about this little parable is the warning at the end - 'the measure you give will be the measure you get'.

What measure of love will you give in your mind and heart and in your actions, this day?

Lord Jesus,
You warned Your disciples and listeners
that what we do in secret
is already known by our Heavenly Father,
and that one day we would be judged for them.
May our thoughts and our actions
be open, honest, and loving,
and forgive us when if we fail.
Amen.