Receive it to use it

Mark 4: 21-25: After the story of the four fields and the seed that falls on them we come across another passage with an important Kingdom principal that we need to take to heart in our physical and spiritual lives.
The basic idea Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of God is that if you receive you must use what you’ve received. You don’t put a lamp under a bowl to hide it away, you use it to light the room. He states: “with the measure you use it, it will be measured to you – even more.” (Mark 4:24) We receive from Him in order to use it or give it away.
We have received so many good things from God and yet how often do we put to them use in a way that allows others to benefit from them. And if we receive something from the Lord let us not think that it will not increase as we put it to use. The first and most apparent application of this Kingdom principal is the use of our spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit gives us a gift or gifts for the benefit of the whole body of Christ, the Church, and yet how many of us really put our gifts to use in that context? And by what He is stating here we know that if we start out small but faithfully we can know that what has been given to us will grow into something that it was not at the beginning.
My own personal test of this truth is in evangelism, I know that when I talk with people about faith and salvation in Jesus I have an ability to clearly speak the truth to my listener. However, as much as I might have that ability if I don’t use it I lose the “edge” and have difficulty making connections with people. My timid nature fights against using this gift. “With the measure [I] use, it will be measured to [me].” This is a sobering principal because the sanction is quite radical. Use it or lose it!
What is your personal test of this truth? Let’s talk about it.

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