I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the lepers in 2 Kings chapter 7. The city of Samaria was under siege by the Aramean army. The four starving outcasts sat outside the gates of Samaria, fully aware that if they stayed where they were, they would die. So, they made a desperate but perfectly reasonable decision: go to the Aramean camp. After all, they had nothing to lose.

When they arrived, they were stunned to find the entire camp abandoned. God had caused the Aramean army to flee in panic, leaving everything behind. The lepers stepped into the tents and immediately began eating, drinking, and gathering up the treasure that had been left untouched.

Then comes the best part of the story: “Then they said to each other, ‘What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news, and we are keeping it to ourselves’” (2 Kings 7:9, NIV).

They realized not sharing what they were experiencing was wrong and something in their hearts told them they could not keep the good news to themselves. Just as the lepers could not stay silent, neither could John.

That brings us to 1 John 1. Here, John reflects on his own firsthand encounters with Jesus, along with those of the other apostles. They heard Him, saw Him, touched Him—and those moments transformed their lives in the most extraordinary way.

They came into a fellowship—a divine relationship with the Father and His Son, Jesus. This fellowship wasn’t merely social; it was rooted in the shared life and love of God. They were bound together in the same body, the same belief, the same knowledge, the same story of sin and grace, the same hopes, and the same destiny.

This was their day of good news, and John’s desire was that they not keep it to themselves. As he writes in 1 John 1:3 (NIV), “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” So that you may enter this fellowship with us—fellowship with the Father and the Son—sharing the same belief, the same hope, the same joy, and the same peace.

The question becomes clear for you and me: are we living in that fellowship? If not, I believe the message of 1 John 1 might be this—turn back, confess honestly, receive freely, and walk forward in the light.

If we are living in that fellowship, the question becomes: what are we doing with our day of good news? May we not hold it back or keep it to ourselves. Then, like the Apostle John, we can say that our joy is complete.