We want to proclaim Christ to the world. Of course. Who wouldn’t? It’s in the nature of who we are to want to tout the treasures of the kingdom to everyone who will listen.
In Arlington, Texas, we find one of the greatest ball stadiums in the nation. Home to the Texas Rangers, the games are played bigger than life, with grand events designed to draw massive crowds. Visit on July 4th, and at the end of the game, the sky over the stadium will explode with fireworks, lighting up the city for miles around.
We want everyone to know we are celebrating, and that they need to sit up and pay attention.
In Mark 1:40-45, a great healing took place. Leprosy in biblical times was the bane of life, and to contract it was to be banished to the fringes of life. Lepers lived outside the city, cast aside, and separated from friends and loved ones.
To be a leper was to live a life that was less than that of a slave.
In this passage, Jesus took compassion on a leper and healed him. He also commanded him in no uncertain terms not to tell anyone.
The leper couldn’t contain himself. Verse 45 tells it this way:
“He went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad [his healing], insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was [restricted to] desert places.”
Jesus wanted to heal, and he wanted to do more. He wanted to enter the city and gift the blessings of salvation, healing, and the love of God to everyone who desired his touch. The leper’s overzealous bragging got in Jesus’ way.
Sometimes God wants us to keep our mouths shut. His message will get out. Our example will scream his majesty and love, and we won’t have to say a word. If we shout in people’s faces, we will create an obstruction that will become a roadblock, and we may very well cause the needy to miss out on the fullness of Christ’s message.
If we are overzealous, we may get in Christ’s way, doing more harm than good. Rather, we should let our lives speak for him. The way we live will tell the story of Christ so much better than our tongues ever could.
Our true testimony for Christ comes in the life we live, not in the words we speak.
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Code: FGO.E.18.15b.vp.kjv