Well now, this is rather… uncomfortable, isn’t it? God isn’t asking, he is telling us to take action, to speak. In this two-part verse, we learn that God is speaking to us in the darkness and that he whispers in our ear. Has he spoken to you? Have you heard his whisper? If so, are you speaking in the daylight, are you proclaiming from the rooftops?
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
This verse comes from Paul, who is making it plain to his listeners that he speaks what God has asked him to speak. It would have been much easier for him to continue in his humanly glorified position of official Christian Hunter/Killer, than it was for him to proclaim Christ as Saviour. He had it good, dear reader, before he became an apostle, at least, by mans standards. Tradition has it that he was killed for preaching the gospel, by hanging upside down on a cross or a beheading. Paul was compelled, not crazy. He was in the dark when God whispered in his ear: in obedience, Paul became a Proclaimer.
The competing voice, it shames us into silence
The competing voice is the one that says you don’t have to repeat what you hear; you don’t have to share what you know. Stay off that roof top and keep your “religion” to yourself. You don’t want to be seen as a crazy big mouth do you, pushing your Christian crack on people! What are you anyway, some kind of nut job? Leave people alone, let them believe what is right for them, after all, who made you the smart one? What makes you think you are right and they are wrong: that is arrogant!
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise from men more than praise from God” (John 12:42-43).
A matter of conscience
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| Glorifying God Gives Off Light |
Proclaiming Christ is not about bravery, it is about conscience. I could not deny him, not for the life of me, and I mean this in the most literal sense. He laid down his life for me and my question has been: would I do the same for others, for him? Would I do what Paul famously did: pouring out his life in pure love and devotion for the glory of God, in the name of his Saviour?
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:13-14).
Love and loyalty go hand in hand, don’t they dear one? When was the last time someone stuck up for you? When was the last time you spoke and acted on behalf of another, selflessly, without the promise of praise or reward? Is Jesus your friend and at this point in the writing, are you a friend to him?
“Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).
You might lose some friends when you declare him your number one. You might be considered crazy and weird, one of those Jesus freaks. Shrug, I think the trade off is worth it, don’t you? Now picture me grinning dear one… The trade off is worth it!
