As believers, we have lived for years with great freedom of expression. That freedom was not challenged in a way that caused any measure of harm. At most, it was only criticized in conversations and debates. With the death of Charlie Kirk, we received an intense and violent response to what can happen with an open and public display of truth. Evil is willing to do whatever it takes to silence the truth and lessen its impact in the public square.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16).
The Church is called to be an open and visible display of God’s truth in culture. It will take a stand, placing the light of truth on display for all to see. Truth cannot be hidden once it is revealed.
Fear wants to silence the truth. It is the basket we use to hide the truth to protect us from those who want to dampen its effect and cause us harm. We have been called to place God’s truth on a visible stand. Our fear will reveal where some in the Church continue to live huddled under their personal basket of fear.
The display of God’s truth is not just for us; it’s for the current rejectors of God’s truth who need to experience the Lord’s redemption. It’s what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. One day, he was killing Christians. The next day, he became a courageous follower of the Lord.
We have been called to place God’s truth on public display – on a public stand – no matter what may come, even our death for daring to speak the truth in love. This requires courage only the Lord can provide. Lord, give us that kind of courage.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Garris Elkins
Featured Image by Alexa from Pixabay
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