“I neither know nor understand what you mean.” Mark 14:68. This wasn’t the last time we would hear of the apostle Peter denying Jesus. And it really got me to thinking that silence isn’t always golden (regardless of what they say in the movie theater).

For the apostle Peter, he was in great fear of what people would think, or do to him, if they found out he associated himself with Jesus. And that was a crucial time as just a few feet away, Jesus’ enemies had arrested him and were torturing him. Still, Jesus desired that all of His people would proudly proclaim His name. It was such a big deal to Him that in Mark 8:38 He said that being ashamed of Him would result in eternal consequences.

More and more, Christians get real quiet when they talk about Jesus. Not God so much because He is a universal language in many people’s eyes, but definitely the name of Jesus. And the greatest bit of silence happens in the business world.  People try and find secret small groups to join so they can vent their Christian beliefs in relation to their business, or so they can figure out how to wedge Jesus into their business without offending someone else. 

What about you?

Are you a Christian that openly speaks about your faith in Jesus or do you keep in quiet? Look, I don’t think it is appropriate to shove Jesus in everyone’s face. I also don’t think it’s appropriate, or even God glorifying, to shove Jesus into every conversation you have just for the sake of doing it.  But I do think that God has called you to where you are for His glory. God divinely orchestrates every conversation (yup, every one of them). God puts people in places of authority and influence. God allows people to see you succeed and fail. God does all of this so that the people on the receiving end may see some reflection of Him in your words or actions. 

By keeping quiet about Jesus, you are denying God the opportunity to use you in encounters with others and you are claiming shame, not joy in being a Christian.

I am thankful that God see every one of my shortcomings. I am thankful that even when I don’t do all that I can to glorify Him, He still loves me. And I am especially thankful that Jesus, in His infinite grace, will continue to use me to glorify Him anyway.