Too Important Not To Share

Too Important Not To Share

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

Romans 10:13-14

HAVE YOU EVER KEPT SOMETHING SECRET?

When my wife, Jennifer, and I were first married, I was doing an internship at a church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a great place to live, and the people were very nice. For instance, for my internship I had to bring packages to the post office almost every day. I’d usually get the same post-office worker, and he’d ask, “What’s in your package?” I would tell him, and he’d say, “Oh. Well, if it were a book, I could have given you a special rate!”

One day my wife received a chain letter from a friend. It told her to send one pair of women’s underwear to a specific lady she didn’t even know, and send letters to six of her friends asking them to get involved, and she would eventually get thirty-six pairs of underwear in the mail. Weird.

She went out and bought a pair of underwear, stuck it in a package, and said, “Vince, I need you to take this to the post office tomorrow and mail it, because I can’t leave work to do it.”

I walked into the post office the next day with a secret. I walked into the post office praying that my normal guy wouldn’t be there to ask, “What you got in your package? If it’s a book, I can give you a special rate.”

“No, but do you have a special deal on sending women’s underwear?”

Thankfully, he wasn’t there that day. Because I had a secret I didn’t want him to know. I didn’t want anyone to know!

The Secret

In November of 1993, I proposed to my then-girlfriend. She said yes.^a

Let’s imagine Jen then exclaimed, “I can’t wait to tell my parents!”

“What?” I say. “Tell your parents? I don’t think we need to tell your parents.”

“What do you mean?” Jen asks. “Of course we’re going to tell my parents.”

“No,” I insist. “Listen, this is just between you and me. We don’t have to go telling anyone. That’s not necessary.”

Jen is confused. “You don’t want to tell anyone?”

I’m emphatic. “No one.”

I convince her, and we don’t tell anyone.

Soon we set a date for the wedding. Jen tells me, “I’ve picked out some great invitations! Everyone is going to be so excited.”

“Whoa. Invitations?” I object. “No, Jen, we’re not inviting anyone. Listen, we’re going to find a minister to do this. It will be just you and me. I mean, it’s our relationship. There’s no reason to get anyone else involved.”

Jen is pretty upset but finally agrees.

Trying to find something to get excited about, she says, “Well, I guess we need to go ring shopping.”

“No,” I respond, “I’m not wearing a ring.”

“What do you mean?” she asks. “That’s a sign of our being married. It shows people the commitment we’ve made to each other.”

I try to assure her: “C’mon, Jen, we’ll know that we’re married. We don’t have to show it off. No one else needs to know.”

That’s not what happened, but let’s say it was. If it were true, you would wonder about my commitment to my wife. Why am I so embarrassed by her?

Too Important

Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”^b Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ”^c and “How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!”^d

I realize it can be difficult to talk about your faith. You might worry about not knowing the right thing to say or how to answer tough questions. You may be afraid that people will reject you. But even so, we have to tell people about Jesus. Why?

If we don’t, what kind of commitment do we have to Jesus?

And God tells us to.

And if we don’t, how will other people find out about Jesus?

There was a Mercedes-Benz ad some years ago that showed one of their luxury cars smashing into a wall during a safety test. A narrator came on and talked about a safety feature the company had developed. And then the narrator interviewed an engineer from the company. He asked why Mercedes-Benz had not enforced its patent on the technology, instead allowing other car companies to copy it.

The commercial ended with the engineer saying, “There are some things in life that are too important not to share.”

People have to know about Jesus—for this life and the eternal life to come.

It’s just way too important to keep it secret.

Now What?

• Read 1 Corinthians 9:16-23.
• Who in your life needs to hear the Good News about Jesus? How could you (lovingly) create an opportunity in the next week to (lovingly) tell them about God’s love for them and how they can put their faith in Jesus? Do it!
• Pray that God will give you an opportunity to share your faith with someone this week. Who might that be? What relationships have you already been investing in?