Have you ever wondered why Jesus told everyone not to tell anyone about how they were healed? He never wanted anyone to know what He was doing, like He wanted to keep His ministry a secret. This always bothered me. I’ve always been left with the question, “Why!?”

Perhaps it’s because He was sick and tired of being followed everywhere. Perhaps He didn’t want to be a public figure like His brothers thought. Perhaps it was because He didn’t want to stir up too much trouble for Himself with the religious leaders.

Perhaps it was because He wanted us to see the Father, and not a man.

The Church needs to do more in secret. We too often sound the trumpet on what we’re doing: reporting it from the pulpit, getting in the news, telling our friends and neighbors. Jesus, however, told us not to let our left hand know what our right hand was doing.

I remember when I was a child, we used to go to a small country church up in the mountains. One Sunday we had a particularly bad snow storm. One of the elders of the church, a very humble and gentle fellow, went to the church at 6 to shovel off the roof. If he hadn’t done so, the roof probably would have collapsed by the time we all got to church.

For some reason, that day we got there a little earlier that we normally did. I remember clearly catching him climbing down from the roof as he was finishing up. I asked him if he was the one who had shoveled off the roof, and he admitted he had. Then he said something that still sticks in my mind. He told me not to tell anyone it was him, because he didn’t want to lose his reward in heaven.

At age 9, this struck me as quite odd. If I had done something that dangerous and back-breaking, I would want the whole church to know. I’d make sure they saw me as they came in for the service that morning. This man didn’t, however. He understood something of the Kingdom that I still struggle to comprehend - our service should be in secret.

Here’s my challenge for the week: serve someone, and make sure that absolutely NO ONE finds out.

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

-John 6:4