Vol. 17 No. 38 | September 21, 2015
Even though at one point he had a huge following it was not because he asked for it, it was not because he demanded it, and it was not because he made any effort to get noticed. He just went about doing good. He healed some people. He comforted some people. He even bought a few people who had died back to life. He did not boast about it. He did not do any of the things there were normal for a rising start.
He perplexed some of his followers by staying in the shadows. They encouraged him to develop a better public relations plan. They chastised him for not making more public appearances. They assured him that if he was to have the impact they wanted him to have he would need to improve his street credibility. He ignored their suggestions and went about doing good.
He refused to make himself a bit deal. Once when he healed a man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4), then told him not to tell anyone.
When he healed the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13) he did not need to go to make a scene of it. He simply said the word and the servant was healed.
When he healed Peter’s mother-in-law he did not make a big deal of it. “He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.” (Matthew 8:14-15)
When he did something big he did it in such a way that, except for the people involved, it did not seem like it was a big thing. When he did go out into the light he did it quietly.
In John 9 when he healed the blind man he did not call attention to what he did. A little spit. A little mud. The man goes on his way. When later asked who it was that healed him, the man said he did not know. He could have announced what he was doing, but he did not. He could have followed the once blind man around giving interviews and signing autographs, but he did not.
When he died he did not, although some who were close to him, and some who had followed him, were sad. But for the most part his death attracted very little attention and required no fanfare. Between two thieves he bowed his head and said, “It is finished.”
He did not need the attention. He avoided it. He did not to be recognized. He seemed to enjoy being unrecognized. His life modeled and his teachings encourage a life lived in quietness, simplicity, and obscurity. Live the life. Take care of people. Love one another. Be quiet about it. Let the Father receive the glory. When it is all over make it a quiet departure.
Tom
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2015. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.