Hide It Under a Bushel?

When I first started writing I had no idea how important it was to build a platform. To be honest I didn’t even know what a platform was. I just thought if I started writing people would flock to my blog. Like the famous movie quote, I imagined…

If I build it, they will come.

Hogwash!

As a writer, it’s disappointing to craft words of inspiration and not experience the joy of sharing them with others. None of us want our words to fall flat. We want ears to hear them and eyes to see them.

And yet all the buzzwords of the day intimidated me. Building an audience, platform or tribe made me feel like I was begging people to see me. It felt like vanity.

One day, while reading in the book of Luke, these words shed new insight. Jesus said, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.”

I thought of light in a new sense that day. My words are light. They bring inspiration and truth. Why would I try to hide them? Shouldn’t I do everything in my power to make sure they are visible?

None us want to write a book or a blog post or a devotional and put it in a place where it’ll be hidden. Instead, we want it to be visible to all that need to see it, so that what we’ve written can bring inspiration and knowledge.

Not so we can be seen, but so our words can bring life.

Here’s the deal. Even Jesus had a platform. He stood on a mountain to preach and once He even used boat as a podium when the crowds on the shore left him no room. That’s some serious tribe-building creativity. Was He full of vanity? Or was He trying to reach the multitude with words of truth?

Jesus didn’t have Facebook or a Twitter account. He didn’t have an Instagram page or a newsletter list. He didn’t even have a radio or TV program or a YouTube channel. But, wherever Jesus went, crowds followed because He used everything He had access to.

It’s obvious that He knew a thing or two about platform. After all, the Bible is still the best-selling book of all time.

We may not use mountains and boats today, but Jesus called us to do even greater works.