"I don't wear my religion on my sleeve" or "Religion is a personal thing" are comments we often hear today. Sometimes these words indicate that the person doesn't really have a relationship with God. At other times the underlying problem is fearfulness to speak up about God. Keeping believers silent is a strategy of the enemy. If he can't keep us from joining God's family, he will do everything possible to keep us from sharing our faith with others.
In Luke 19:40 Jesus stated that if all other testimony was silenced "the stones would immediately cry out." The occasion was the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. At this point there was no silencing of any testimonies. The disciples and the people of Jerusalem openly declared Jesus as the "King who comes in the name of the Lord." Even the colt on which no one had ever sat willingly carried Jesus amidst all the excitement and noise. Seeing such support for Jesus, the Pharisees insisted that Jesus rebuke his disciples. At that point Jesus made the statement that if He did so the stones would cry out.
Nature has always cried out in praise to Jesus. We cannot look into a clear night sky, sit in the forest next to a flowing stream or travel the mountains and seashores of our country without praise to God filling our hearts and minds. However as believers we are often silenced not by Jesus as the Pharisees had requested but by our own choice or by our fear of what men may say. While unbelievers unashamedly reveal their immoral activities, philosophies and rebellion against God, we believers keep the silence. We must be the voices of those crying in the wilderness of this world just as John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness announcing the coming of Jesus. Let's not force the stones to cry out because of our silence. Give praise to God today within your heart and with your lips.
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