Shhh! Please Don’t Tell Me a Secret!

Please don’t tell me a secret. It’s just so hard to keep it to myself. I have been known to give away a surprise party before the party in a careless moment of unintentionality. I may have been the kid that went into stealth mode and opened all my Christmas presents and rewrapped them unbeknownst to my mom.

So, I’m in good company with those who couldn’t keep it to themselves about Jesus healing a deaf man AFTER He told them to keep it quiet. I would have been one of those, I’m sure. So, while I hope I’d do better than the guys who were healed by Jesus if I were in their situation, I can surely relate. “He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.” (Mark 7:36)

There were times when it didn’t matter to Jesus if the news was publicized – all the better! But there were good reasons why He didn’t want His miracles publicized some of the time. The leper couldn’t keep the good news to himself when Jesus healed him. Mark 1:45 says: “It was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places.” If the broadcast of the miracle would draw people in to hear His teaching, all to the good. If the broadcast of the miracle only caused a mob scene who misunderstood His mission and purpose, it was useless. (Mark 8:36).

Jesus didn’t come to be an earthly king. He knew that the more famous He became, the more jealous those in power would become. Jesus seemed to be good at “stealth-mode”. He kept the full Truth of His divine identity mostly quiet (despite the bad secret-keepers) until God’s plan of Jesus’ passion and resurrection could be realized over the events of Holy Week. We’re into week two of Lent — and I can’t keep it a secret about my Savior and the price He paid for me.

We awkward secret-keepers don’t have to worry anymore. With the resurrection, we are witnesses not to just a small piece, but to the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation. Secrecy is no longer needed. Now we can shout it from the rooftops how Jesus has healed us from our own blindness and deafness and invisible inner leprosies. It’s all too good to keep to ourselves. Whew! That’s good news for me…..and the good news I endeavor to shout from the rooftops (er…social media) every day!

At last…I don’t have to keep it a secret, but God bless those who still have to keep this Good News to themselves in many countries in our world. Lord, I pray for those in harms way because they don’t want to have to keep YOU a secret any longer!