Tell

In May of 2003, my wife Sarah and I discovered that we were going to become parents.  After learning this life changing information, my blood pressure spiked, my fingers tingled, I became nauseous, and sweat immediately formed on my brow…ok the sweat may have already been there…I am pretty much a walking sponge.  It took a day or so for the panic to subside.  Once my heart rate had calmed, I found this great excitement building within me.  I was going to be a dad!  It became less scary to me…and perhaps more scary to others.  However, despite our excitement, Sarah and I had decided to keep the news to ourselves for about a month.  We decided that we would start telling people on Father’s Day.  As each day passed I felt the excitement build until I was about ready to burst...Pizza Ranch buffets may have also played a role.

It’s a fascinating experience to be privy to “little known information.”  We hold a certain power over others who do not have the same knowledge as we have.  Secret family recipes are a fine example.  We would be glad to “make” it for anyone…to show off our great “knowledge” or “ability.”  Yet, we often keep these things secret.  Why?  Does sharing the information make us know any less? No…it makes someone else know more.  There are other times, however, when we just can’t help but share the information that we have been given. 

When Sarah was expecting our fourth child, we decided to tell our other 3 children first.  Our oldest…(see above experience)…was now the one bursting to tell.  The day she learned that her mother was having a baby…she wrote a song...and then sang the song EVERYWHERE she went.  The lyrics when something like this…Verse 1: My mom’s having a baby…My mom’s having baby…Chorus: My mom’s having a baby…My mom’s having a baby. 

She couldn’t help it.  She had to tell.  There was no keeping it a secret.  Likewise…I am convinced, that when we truly come to understand what Jesus has done for us…what he has saved us from…we can’t help but tell.  I chose to follow Christ at a very young age. However, it wasn’t until I truly understood my own depravity…my own “need” for a savior…that this longing to tell others of the grace that Jesus has given to me, began to make me burst.

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, we see how a Samaritan woman, who Jesus had been talking to, goes immediately back to her people and tells everyone she meets all about the Christ.  She could not help but share the experience that she had just had with Jesus.

What is it that is building inside of you…that you just have to tell or you will burst?  I know…that the grace of Jesus Christ, can lead you to that experience…but it starts by saying yes to him.