Reflections By Dr. Richard Reed

August 25, 2006

     The story is told of a John and Ruth Jones who were celebrating the 4th of July by having their extended family over for a cookout. They had planned a spectacular home fireworks display--even though fireworks were illegal in their state. A relative called at the last minute to ask if he could bring a friend to the cookout. John and Ruth graciously said yes. To their surprise, however, the friend turned out to be a police officer.

     What were John and Ruth to do? John quietly whispered to their son, "Hide the fireworks--quick." That was no surprise. If you are doing something illegal, you probably would not want a police officer to be present.

     So, their son disappeared to do as he was instructed while John and Ruth began greeting their family members including their police officer guest. One extended family member brought some chicken to grill, so John pointed her around back and told her the gas grill was all set to use. "Just turn on the gas and push the ignition button with the lid still closed," he said.

     A few minutes later their son came back in through the front door. His father hurried to him and said, "Whew, that was close! That man's a police officer, and he almost saw the fireworks. Did you hide them real well?" "Oh, yes!" said their son, "Nobody will ever think to look inside the grill!"

     Everyone has tried to keep a secret at some time. It may have been a secret about your work, about life, or about someone in your family. Secrets can be a lot of fun when you are young because they seem mysterious and intriguing. The most interesting thing about secrets is how difficult they are to keep.

There are many companies in the corporate world that have trade secrets. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi , Kentucky Fried Chicken, computer companies, and even Bush’s Baked Beans, work hard to keep their corporate secrets, secret. The problem they have is not letting the secret get out.

One of the revealing aspects of Jesus’ ministry is that he did not leave the kingdom of God a secret. Jesus wanted people to know what God wanted and what God was doing. Jesus was always demonstrating the presence of the kingdom and telling people that the kingdom of God was in their midst. He intentionally helped people discover God’s purpose in their lives.

Wherever you look in life, you will always see signs of God’s presence. It is no secret, we live surrounded by the glory of God.