The Cross in the Closet

I was sorting through a closet at church the other day looking for a storage bin and tucked away in the dark in the very back of the closet was an old wooden cross.  I pulled it out and carried it into the teen room at church and thought I would put it up on the wall.  After all it was just collecting dust in the closet.  Tonight with a little wire and a lot of help we got the cross hanging on the wall.

My friend Vivian posted this today which made me think about the significance of pulling that cross out of the closet:

S - John 19:39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

O - Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea, finally decided to honor Jesus in the open, instead of in secret.

A - Do they know that you believe? Are you a secret Christian? There is no shame in believing in Christ and following the one true God and what He has written in His Word. If you are ashamed, then the esteem of man ranks higher with you than your love for the Man who gave His life for you. How sad Nicodemus and Joseph must have been to have seemingly lost one whom they loved so much and yet they never dared to show it. And how bold, after Jesus' death, to finally step out and honor Him.

P - Lord, help me to love and honor the living now so that I have no regrets. And help me to honor You by worshiping and following You openly, without shame, because I love You more than the esteem of man.

Was it a coincidence that I stumbled across an old dusty cross  and a few days later Vivian posted her divine inspiration on John 19:39.  I don't think so.  Consider this cross "out of the closet" forever.  Let's not hide our crosses in the closet but carry them proudly.  After all the one that died on that cross did it for you and for me.  And those secrets, those "crosses" we bear we can pull those out of their closets too because Jesus died to set us free.  The more I share my "secrets" the freer I become and most days I don't need a closet...........cause Jesus has set me free to just be me & this "me" just wants to seek the face of JESUS not in the privacy of my closet but out in public, on the streets, at work, at home and EVERYWHERE.  Can you imagine what our world would look like if we started living for JESUS right out in the open where everyone could see?