Living His Word

John 12:42-43 ERV: But many people believed in Jesus. Even many of the Jewish leaders believed in him, but they were afraid of the Pharisees, so they did not say openly that they believed. They were afraid they would be ordered to stay out of the synagogue. They loved praise from people more than praise from God.

During His sojourn on earth, Jesus had proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God and had performed many miraculous signs. The miracles demonstrated to anyone with eyes to see that what He said about the coming of the Kingdom was true.

Despite the miraculous demonstrations and the truthfulness of His preaching, many of the people still did not believe in Him. It takes the gift of faith to actually hear the message of the Kingdom and it takes faith to actually see the reality of the Kingdom.

Many of the people, on the other hand, believed in Jesus. However, they were afraid to openly confess their belief. They were more worried about the approval of men than worried about the approval of God.

Jesus warned us about this: "Don't be ashamed of me and my teaching. If that happens, Iwill be ashamed of you when I come with my divine greatness and that of the Father and the holy angels." (Luke 9:26). He also said "'If you stand before others and are willing to say you believein me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me'" (Matthew 10:32-33).

Every Christian experiences at least some persecution, but even those at the front lines of the battle between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God must not deny their faith because of fear. Jesus said, "'Don't be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell'" (Matthew 10:28).

Don't be worried about the approval of people; don't be afraid to let your light shine in the darkness.