Our Faith in Jesus is Nothing to be Ashamed of.

When Jesus was crucified, many who stood around the cross tried to make Him feel ashamed of His exposure and apparent failure. He was more than willing to carry the shame of all repentant sinners, but He refused to carry the shame that these mockers were trying to throw at Him. In truth, it was shame that belonged to them.

We live in days when it seems that the world is increasingly mocking those who’ve chosen to follow the teaching of Jesus. For example, very often, when Christians are interviewed on the media, the whole tone of the interview is not one of serious questioning or debate, but more an attempt to make the person being interviewed feel ashamed for having, what are regarded as, outdated and bigoted beliefs. For most believers, our experience, even in the hostile climate of secularism today, is unlikely to reach the level of abuse that Jesus suffered, but we’ll probably find, as this spiritual climate darkens, that there will be frequent attempts to make us feel ashamed of the good news about Jesus.

In fact, it’s those who mock the truth of Jesus who should rightly carry shame, but it’s not unusual for a person feeling such discomfort to try, albeit unconsciously, to place the guilty feelings on those who’ve made them feel uncomfortable. We need to follow the example of Jesus and despise this misplaced shame. As His Body on earth, we’re very likely to experience something of the same hostility He did. We must respond to that just as He did, always forgiving, but not taking upon ourselves the shame that doesn’t belong to us, for there’s truly no shame in following Him.

Prayer: Father God, how important it was for Jesus to carry only the shame of mankind’s acknowledged sin. His obedience to You, in allowing Himself to be crucified on a cross, was nothing for which He needed to feel shame. Help us also to despise the shame that’s so often cast by the world on those who seek to serve the King of kings. Amen.