Walking in Secret

“…from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness…” John 11.53,54 NKJV

I won’t presume to tell you how you’ll know when it’s appropriate to follow this example Jesus provided, but I have a feeling you’ll know because if you’re His, the Spirit of God indwells you. There may indeed come a time even here in America when it is more prudent to walk in secret than to walk openly. If that ever becomes the case, it may well be that scriptures like John 9.4 have come to pass, where He instructs us that when the night comes, no one can work.

When that day arrives, if indeed none of us can work any longer, I take it to mean that the world will be so far gone that there is no possibility of winning even one more soul.

Until then, I want to be like Jesus, who, in John 9.5 confessed that He, while He is in the world, is the light of the world. You may have noticed that I don’t like to speak or write about Him in the past tense. I do this because He is alive and well. For now, in the age of grace, His life is in His Church (which is why, for now, we are the light of the world).

I deeply admire WW II Army medic Desmond T. Doss. My favorite line from Hacksaw Ridge is where he says, “One more, Lord. Just give me one more.” Doss pulled seventy-five men from imminent danger and certain death, becoming the first man in US history to win the Medal of Honor without firing a shot. Valor like this is truly uncommon, and it’s just the stuff we the Church ought to be made of.

As far as I can tell, it’s still day and we can still work. There are millions, tens of millions here in America who have, I am convinced, never really had the gospel proved to them. They’ve heard a load of religious flapdoodle and properly rejected it because remember: the gospel is preached with words but proved with lives.

I believe God is providing a singular opportunity for anyone willing to stand with Him in these days. I believe that the Spirit of God is brooding over the face of the deep even now, that He is putting His word in the mouths of His sent ones, and if we are faithful to go, to stand, and to speak His word to a thirsting and starving generation, millions will turn.

As for me, I just want one more. And then another. Then still another. If we all work together, the Master’s house will be full indeed.