Trevor Sheatz@TrevorSheatz
"Not all secret things need to be made public."
"You're throwing your wife under the bus."
"You still have time to delete this!"
Firstly, this story has been public for years when my wife was the first one who decided to discuss this publicly. She delights in sharing her testimony with others.
Secondly, I agree that not all secret things need to be made public. There is honor and wisdom in concealing certain matters (Prov. 11:13; 17:9). This is precisely why I chose not to go into details surrounding past sin and kept it brief. I quite literally just shared five words about her life before Christ in this post.
Third, in the Scriptures, we see countless personal sins revealed. God didn't have to have David's adultery exposed; he didn't have to have Peter's betrayal revealed; he didn't have to have Samson's lust written down permanently. He could've just chosen not to include these things in the Bible at all. Why would God do this when secret things should remain hidden, and when this only gives unbelievers ammo to fire at these godly individuals?
Because, lastly, we're all sinners who fall short of God's commands and need hope, and these transparent revealings of shortcomings bring that hope and show that "there is none good but God" (Mark 10:18).
Christianity isn't for those who are perfect. It's for the broken, the lost, the sinful. No one is too far from God's grace that they can't be saved, and hearing these real stories brings the hope of the gospel to people who think, like I used to, that they've sinned too much to possibly go to Heaven.
But the marvel of the gospel is that you don't have to live a perfect life; Jesus already did (Heb. 4:15). You don't have to pay the penalty for your sins by suffering forever in Hell; Jesus already bore God's wrath on the cross in the place of all those who would trust in him (2 Cor. 5:21). He rose from the grace and defeated death so that anyone who repents and believes upon him will have their sinful past forgiven (Acts 20:21), be given the Holy Spirit and a new nature, and be saved from Hell and granted eternity in Heaven with God (John 3:16).
And I am so grateful this practical story can reach the far corners of the internet where even though many may mock, it will resonate with some who are convicted of their secret sins, which God will one day reveal anyways (Luke 8:17). I pray it leads some to fall flat on their face to Jesus today in repentance and faith. He is such a loving, forgiving, gracious King and Savior. He's the only way to Heaven. Run to him today, and you can experience the same forgiveness, love, and transformation that my wife, myself, and all born-again Christians have undergone. 🙏🏻
