Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”  — John 11:38-43

The miracle of this text is significant. But today, I want to focus on what Jesus is doing because it is a remarkable example for men today.

Jesus is proudly allowing his ongoing spiritual connection to God to be public. He never lets the indictments of the opposition keep him from speaking the truth. He never lets the pressure of public shame keep him from doing God's work. With proud spiritual confidence, he will even pray out loud with the understanding that God hears him and responds to him. In fact, he prays out loud as a verbal declaration of his connection to God. And he even tells us that he is saying it out loud, even though it does not need to be said out loud, so that we will see the divine connection between God and himself.

As believing men, our connection to God should be so real to us that it should be evident to others. What we say and do in public and with a sense of pride gives credence to the faith. Our words and actions about Jesus are a testimony that helps others make connections they will not make on their own if we don't proudly make it for them.

What's so interesting about this is that we are in a calendar month commonly known as "Pride Month." During this month, there is a strong push for us to embrace pride and reject any sense of shame that individuals may feel as victims of certain circumstances. Yet from a Christian perspective, we are called to hold to the teachings of the Bible, which identifies some of these ideologies and practices as immoral. Now the agenda of this campaign is not for us to merely coexist with these immoral choices, but they want us to actively celebrate and endorse them. What I find troubling is the double standard in this celebration of pride. Over the past few decades, the same organizations and institutions that now demand our support in promoting their ideologies have discouraged believers from celebrating or endorsing ours. They have even shamed us into silence regarding matters we should rightfully take pride in while simultaneously demanding that we embrace ideologies that should illicit shame for a believer.

And if you are wondering why this is happening, here's why. We are witnessing the collision between two manifestations of sin. First, sin that is actively and openly disobedient to God by unbelievers. Second, sin that is passively and silently disobedient to God by believers. The combination of this active disobedience by unbelievers and passive disobedience by believers has created a cultural phenomenon that I am still determining if we will ever recover from.

But I know this. Jesus gives us a remarkable example of what to do about this in this text. Jesus, proudly and unashamedly, stood up and spoke up about his connection with the Father. He was not going to be ashamed. He was not going to be silent. He knew the risk. He knew the fate that awaited him. He was looking right at a grave and thinking about his own grave and knew that two miles away, just over the horizon, great harm awaited him. And still, he spoke the truth proudly so that we could see the connection between him and God even though the opposition wanted him to be silent.

Gentlemen, we need to follow suit. If we remain silent and ashamed of our faith in God, people will never recognize the connection between us and God. It is time to rid ourselves of our passivity and be proud during pride month. And not proud of sin, nor proud of ourselves, but proud of God. We should be proud of God's work in and through us. So don't be silent and ashamed any longer. If you do, you are only contributing to the problem. Do you see what I did there? I shamed you a bit, but maybe in a Godly direction.

ASK THIS:

1. How can we emulate Jesus' example of proudly and unashamedly displaying our connection to God in today's culture?
2. In a world that celebrates pride while promoting ideologies that contradict biblical teachings, how can we navigate the tension between being proud of God's work in us and avoiding the trap of sinful pride?

DO THIS: Be proud of God.

PRAY THIS: God, give me the courage to boldly proclaim my connection with You, unashamed and proud, amidst a world that often discourages and shames believers. Help me navigate the tension between humility and confidence as I strive to reflect Your love and truth in all that I say and do.

PLAY THIS: I Thank God.