Shame. We've all most likely felt shame at some point in our lives, whether it has been life crippling shame or only a little bit of shame that vanishes quickly. There are many things that I have been ashamed of... and things that produce shame in my life today. Before Christ had become a commitment in my life, I had been abused and was an abuser. In relationships I had been in, I was abused. In other cases I was the abuser. At one point in my life, I was the abuser in an incident that had me crippled with shame. And the beautiful part of that? I am forgiven!!! Christ forgave me on the cross and through his mercy. The abused forgave me through a message and an "I love you". I forgave me through tears and brokenness. All of this has led to Christ healing those hurts and washing away the shame.
There is something even more beautiful!!! There should be no shame of the Gospel!! Paul writes of its power from God in our salvation. When we live for God, there is no need to be ashamed. "The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith." What should that mean for us? This is what I think of (agree to disagree if you like). God had faith in Himself to come and live in a sinful, fallen world as a man. He is God after all... no self-confidence issues there!!! Men had faith in Christ Jesus and in what he taught so they wrote them down. They proceeded to spread those words through teaching and distributing the Gospel and all the Bible had written in it. They did this and died to themselves so that all of those who came after them might believe that Christ lived to die on a cross so that we might have faith in God alone. It is through our faith that God can change us... starting from the inside of our heart and working his way out into our lives.
In our world today, how does that play out? What do we put our trust in? What do we have faith in? Money, jobs, relationships? Or do we put our faith in the God of our salvation who has no shame and calls us His beloved children?
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"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes -- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."
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