And having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
Acts 2:33
What God pours out, He intends others to see and hear. There is a simple truth: what is brought into the light grows. When people saw and heard what God was doing, the church grew. When a person brings darkness into the light of grace-filled relationships (confession), healing (growth) happens.
In Luke 19, Jesus says that the man who hid his talent lost it, while those who invested theirs and brought back increase were given more! The “wicked servant,” as Jesus taught, hid his talent out of fear. Fear causes us to hide, and hidden things die! We often fear what we cannot control instead of acting on what we can control.
People have parts of themselves that they have hidden, and for that reason they are dying emotionally, spiritually, or relationally. Traumatic events cause us to hide things. Jesus does not desire us to keep any parts of ourselves in the dark. Whether good or bad, light is the best thing.
We were created in the image and likeness of God. We were created for relationship. We need others! Any time we keep a part of ourselves hidden from others; it will die or cause further decay. You cannot control how others will respond to you, but you can control whether or not you are honest. Bringing things into the light is a powerful change that will cause amazing growth. When we share what we are learning, we grow. When we share what God is doing, the church grows. When we bring unholy things to light, we grow in holiness. This is the wonderful truth!