On The Outside

Read: Mark 4:1-12

[Jesus] replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders.” Mark 4:11

IN WORD

Like Isaiah before Him, Jesus spoke to people, knowing up front that many would not even listen to His words. If we were in that position, we would want to make things as clear as possible and answer questions before they were even asked. Not Jesus. He spoke in parables, obscuring the truth for those who weren’t really listening for it in the first place, and opening it up for those who were hungry to hear and understand. Even His disciples—those who were already following Him and fully on board—needed explanations, and Jesus gave them when necessary. The secret of the Kingdom had already been given to them. But He said it would remain obscure to those outside of it.

Why is the Kingdom secret? Because the key to Kingdom life, the currency of the Kingdom itself, is faith. God almost always reveals Himself in ways that distinguish between faith and unbelief. There’s always enough evidence to believe, rarely enough to prove empirically. That’s because He isn’t looking for the best minds; He is looking for the right hearts. Parables have a fantastic ability to distinguish between those who are truly hungry and those who are not.

IN DEED

Be careful how quickly you dismiss things you don’t understand. The Kingdom will come to you in secrets, and those who are unobservant or preoccupied or driven by their own agenda will miss them. Like a gold prospector looking for treasure, you may have to do some digging. But if you’re truly hungry, you will. This is God’s design, the way He distinguishes between active listeners and passive hearers, hearts that love Him and hearts that are only mildly interested, those who hunger and thirst and those who don’t. The Kingdom is given to those with the faith of a child and the spirit of an adventurer. When you are truly seeking His heart, He opens up its treasures. And its secrets become plain.

ADDITIONAL READING: Matthew 11:25

He who will believe only what he can fully comprehend must have a very long head or a very short creed.

CHARLES CALEB COLTON