From the Housetops

No matter how wealthy someone might be, his net worth is limited.  It may be an unfathomable limit to the average wage-earner, but it is limited nonetheless.  All people face limitations which are on level with each other as well.  Everyone has the same amount of minutes and hours in the day and night to accomplish work and see their goals realised.  We all have basic necessities:  oxygen, water, food, clothing, and sleep.  Because of our naturally self-focused nature and the limitations we perceive, humans find great security in homes, careers, money, and possessions.  There are limits to the risks we take because we know that our resources can easily make wings and fly away if we are not careful.  We go to great lengths to protect and preserve what we have.

We see evidence of this in an example from scripture.  Samaria had been under siege for some time by the Syrian army.  There was a grievous famine in the city and people were starving to death.  A group of starving lepers talked over their options outside the gate of the city.  They were outcasts dying of a dreaded and incurable condition.  In the city they would starve, and they faced the swords and spears of the Syrians outside.  They decided that either way they were dead men.  It would be better to throw themselves upon the mercy of the Syrian army rather than waste away in the city from starvation.  What did they have to lose?  Unknown to them at the time, God caused the Syrian army to flee because they thought they heard the sound of a huge approaching army.  When they arrived at the camp in twilight, they found it completely deserted.  2 Kings 7:8-9 reads, "And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.⁹ Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household."

These lepers were at first very happy to keep this good news to themselves.  They feasted and drank of the Syrian provisions, plundered gold, silver, and clothes and went and hid them.  They did the same with the second tent.  But then they concluded that it was wrong to keep this good news to themselves:  the whole city was perishing while they were eating, drinking, and hoarding!  Granted, their motivation for sharing the news was not good.  They feared for their own skins rather than doing good for the sake of those who were suffering.  But in the end they went to the city, and shared the good news that the Syrian army had left and there remained an abundance of food and riches for all.  In a similar way, God has provided us the Good News of the Gospel, not so we can pig out on food, drink, and hoard riches for ourselves, but so we might share the Gospel of Salvation by grace through faith in Christ to others.  Even as Jesus laid down His life in love, so we should share this Good News - not motivated by the fear of judgment - but moved by love for God and others.  The treasures of God's Kingdom are of far greater value than any amount of money can buy and will last for eternity.

Psalm 145:1-3 says, "I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. ² Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. ³ Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable."  King David proclaims the goodness and greatness of God for all to see.  All who have tasted and seen that God is good are under the obligation to boldly and broadly declare and to magnify the greatness of God.  Jesus exhorts in Matthew 10:27, "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops."  When God teaches us something, it is not only meat and drink intended for our consumption, but for the good of all:  for the guiding of the lost to Christ, to instruct the wandering back to Him, to encourage the faithful, to edify, encourage, and exhort the Body of Christ, all for the glory of God.  Sometimes we are afraid to share the things God is teaching us with others.  Jesus knows this.  That is why His next sentence in Matthew 10:28 is this:  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Let us not keep the grace, love, promises, and salvation of Christ a secret for ourselves, but boldly proclaim His goodness from the housetops!  It is better to be approved of God for our obedience and be shunned outcasts than to treasure the accolades and approval of man over the performance of our joyful duty.  God's glory is without limit, and we will forever be proclaiming His praises.  He is eternal, infinite, and worthy, and everlasting security is found in Him alone!