To Encourage You

John 18:4 “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’”

If you are a Christian, does anyone know it?  If not, why not?  Is it possible that you, like Christ, are aware of things that will happen to you if you do, but unlike Him, you aren’t willing to pay that price? 

Jesus knew what awaited him when he “came forward” and identified himself.  He knew the great antagonism that the leaders in Israel had for Him and He knew exactly what would happen to Him if told them who He was.  Yet He did it anyway, because He loved God above all else, and He loved us more than He loved His own comfort.  He knew that the only way any of us would be saved would be if He would suffer the curse of the cross. Many of those who were with Him, who identified with Him, either fled, or, like Peter, denied that they knew Him. They were interested in saving their own skin, not in glorifying God at that moment. 

What about you and what about me?  Are we like those who don’t want anyone to know we identify with Christ, that we know Him and love Him?  Are we like those who seek to hide their light under a bushel, an act Jesus condemned in the Sermon on the Mount?  Or do we, although we know full well the rejection that might come, “come forward,” and let others know that we love the One who gave His life for us? 

Whether we “come out of the closet” or not regarding our faith reveals the strength of our love toward the God who told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, as well as for those to whom we are to tell the wonderful message of the gospel.  If we love ourselves more than we love God or our neighbor, we’ll hide who we really are.  We’ll make our faith a “private matter” as so many like to say.  But if we would follow the example of the One who loved us so much that He “came forward” and gave His life for us, we too will come forward as those who love Him and will tell the world the message of His great love in spite of the fact that we know all that could happen to us if we do.