As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
ACTS 4:20
On several occasions recorded in the Gospels, Jesus healed individuals and then warned them to say nothing to anyone about what he had done for them. Sometimes, though, those whose lives he had touched did not keep quiet. One man, a leper, first went to a priest who would pronounce him clean, and then he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him. The same thing took place when Jesus healed a deaf mute. The more Jesus told him to stay quiet, the more he proclaimed his healing.
Just like the leper and the deaf mute, when people have genuinely encountered Christ, nothing should keep them from talking about him. It is not a manufactured or forced behavior. It is a spontaneous response to an encounter with God.
By God’s grace we have received the gifts of salvation, forgiveness, freedom, healing, restoration, and more. If our faith is genuine, we will be unable to resist telling our friends, neighbors, everyone we encounter about what Jesus has done for us.
Sometimes we pull back from doing so because we have encountered resistance, ridicule, or opposition from family, friends, or coworkers; but we must determine that nothing or no one can stop us from declaring the good news. Of course we require wisdom, love, and grace when we share our faith. More often than not, timing is everything, and with this in mind, let’s be prepared every single day, in season and out of season, to share the great things that our wonderful Savior has done. People are more ready to hear than you might think. Never forget that for many people we are the only Bible they will ever read and the only disciple of Christ they will ever meet. We are God’s love letter to this world.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
When was the last time you spoke about Jesus to someone for the first time?