And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables…”

Mark 4:11 (ESV)

If you’ve been around churches for any length of time, you may have heard said that the Bible is like a love letter written to Christians. As cliché as that sounds, it’s sort of true.

Many non-believers read the Bible and come out of it confused, while others come out of the experience enlightened. What’s the difference? Why doesn’t everyone experience the Bible in the same way?

Have you ever been in a church service where you see people with their arms raised, tears streaming down their face while you stand with your hands in your pockets watching, wondering if you’ve missed something?

We all experience God in different ways. Don’t misread this, God doesn’t change, we just see different facets of Him. If we are open, He shows us what we need when we need it. In this verse in Mark, Jesus had just told a large crowd the parable of the sower. All the crowd got was the parable. This group is like a non-believe reading the Bible without any expectation and probably a lot of cynicism. These people aren’t privy to the explanation. They heard the words and walked away.

Once the crowd had gone, Jesus explained his story to his disciples and those who had remained near by – the people close to him, the people who were seeking answers. These are the people who look to the Bible for answers. God says that if we seek Him, we will find Him. We have “been given the secret of the kingdom of God.”

When you stay close to Jesus and ask the questions, you get the good stuff. You get the secrets.

Daily Bible reading: Numbers 5-6, Mark 4:1-20