“A Courageous Decision – To Acknowledge Jesus”

[Hubi]

Dear brothers and sisters,

just imagine the following scene…

A classroom.
A completely normal school class.
Soft murmuring, chairs moving, here and there some laughter.

And right in the middle of it sits a young girl…
Marie.

She has been given an assignment – nothing unusual, really:
“Present your idol.”

But for Marie, this task is anything but easy.

She goes home… sits down on her bed perhaps…
and thinks.

Who should I present?

A famous athlete?
A musician?
An influencer?

But deep in her heart she feels:
That doesn’t fit me… that’s not who I am.

Days pass…
And then—very quietly—a thought comes to her.

A thought that requires courage.
A thought that makes her heart beat faster.

What if… I present Jesus?

---

The day of the presentation arrives.

Marie stands at the front.
Maybe her hands tremble a little…
Maybe she feels all eyes on her…

And she knows:
This is a moment of decision.

Will I stand up for my faith… or not?

---

Dear brothers and sisters,

haven’t we experienced moments like that too?

At school…
at work…
in the family…

Moments when we know exactly:
Now I could say something… now I could acknowledge Jehova and Jesus.

But at the same time there is that quiet voice:
What will others think?

---

Marie makes her decision.

She gathers all her courage…
and begins to read:

“My role model is Jesus Christ…”

The room becomes quiet.

No whispering anymore.
No giggling.

Only her voice.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of him, because I have never seen him…
But he is my role model because he was flawless and unchanging…”

Maybe one or another student suddenly looks up.
Maybe someone even lifts their head slightly.

Because this… is different.

This is real.

---

And then she says something that deeply touches:

“We humans are never consistent… sometimes we are happy, then again sad…
Jesus is not like that…”

Isn’t that true?

We all know this…

One day we feel strong.
The next day weak.

Once full of joy…
then again disappointed.

But Jesus…

He was always loving.
Always balanced.
Always perfect.

What a role model…

---

And then comes the sentence…
that perhaps moves her the most:

“I have decided to follow him… because he gave his life for my sins…”

Dear brothers and sisters…

Imagine that moment.

A young girl…
in a completely normal classroom…
talking about the greatest gift ever given.

The sacrifice of Jesus.

Not dry.
Not memorized.

But… from the heart.

---

And what happens?

The class remains silent.

No one laughs.
No one makes fun.

Even the teacher…

is touched.

A man who perhaps had little interest in faith before…
now suddenly feels:

This is not just religion.

This is something alive.

Something real.

A relationship.

---

Dear brothers and sisters,

isn’t this exactly what Jesus meant when he said:

“Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.”
(Luke 12:8)

What a powerful thought…

If we have the courage to acknowledge Jesus…
he will acknowledge us.

Before the angels.

In heaven.

---

Just imagine that…

An angel might ask:
“Who is that person there on earth?”

And Jesus says:

“That is someone who stands up for me.”
“That is someone who was not afraid to mention my name.”

What could be greater than that…?

---

But let’s be honest…

Having courage is not always easy.

Sometimes we feel small.

Like Marie perhaps…
alone in front of a whole class.

Or we think:

I’m not good enough…
I don’t have the right words…

But you know…

Jehova does not expect perfection.

He values courage.
Sincerity.
A heart that loves him.

---

Let’s think of a small illustration:

A child stands at the edge of a swimming pool.
It is afraid to jump.

The father stands in the water…
opens his arms…
and says:

“Jump… I will catch you.”

The child hesitates…
but then jumps.

Why?

Not because it has no fear…
but because it trusts.

---

That’s exactly how it is with us.

When we acknowledge Jesus…
we are, in a sense, jumping.

We don’t always know how people will react.

But we know:

Jehova is there.
Jesus stands behind us.

And they will not let us fall.

---

And often we experience something amazing…

Just like Marie did.

We might think:
Others will react negatively…

But instead…

they become thoughtful.
Respectful.
Maybe even touched.

Why?

Because authenticity touches people.

Because courage impresses.

Because love becomes visible.

---

Dear brothers and sisters,

what can we learn from this experience?

Perhaps this:

It doesn’t take many words.
No perfect speech.

Sometimes a simple sentence is enough:

“I believe in Jehova.”
“Jesus is my role model.”

And that one sentence…

can reach a heart.

---

In conclusion, I would like to ask you a question…

When we look back on our life one day…

Do we want to say:

“I remained silent… even though I could have spoken?”

Or:

“I had the courage to acknowledge… even when it was difficult?”

---

Marie was just a young girl.

But on that day…

she was a shining example.

An example that faith does not have to be loud…

but courageous.

Not perfect…

but real.

---

And so, dear brothers and sisters…

let us have the courage
to say something at the right moment.

Let us get to know Jehova and Jesus better…
so that our heart overflows.

And when an opportunity arises…

then we speak.

Maybe quietly.
Maybe hesitantly.

But from the heart.

---

Because…

“everyone who acknowledges me before men…
the Son of man will also acknowledge him…”

What a hope…

What an honor…

And what a loving Father we have.