Not Ashamed

Today’s first reading comes from Romans.  The first line is a bold and striking statement.  The reading starts with, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek” (Romans 1:16).  Paul writes this statement, showing his confidence in the Gospel and his willingness to share it.  Do we have the same faith and confidence?  Can we say that we are unashamed of the Gospel?

To the world, the Gospel and our faith appear foolish, unintelligent, and useless.  But if we truly believe, our faith must be everything and that must be reflected in our lives.  Are we willing to stand up for our faith when we are the only ones standing, when it is unpopular, when we will face ridicule and rejection?

Paul knew that sharing Christ would bring hardships and suffering.  Yet, he persevered because he was confident in the transformative ability of the Gospel.  He knew the power that Jesus had to change and impact lives.  It should be the same with us.  Do we fully recognize the power that Jesus has to change and transform lives?  We cannot keep that to ourselves.

The Gospel contradicts the world and what the culture says we should value and how we should live.  So, if we are living our faith, we will probably stand out at times.  And that is uncomfortable.  It can be so much easier to keep our faith hidden, to not let others see or know that we have faith.  But if we value our faith and are living it out daily, we will be uncomfortable.  We must ask ourselves, is our love for Jesus greater than our desire to be comfortable?

Each day is a chance for us to increase our commitment and confidence in our faith.  We will fail at times, but that must never be a reason to stop or back down from sharing or living our faith.  My prayer for each of us today is that, like Paul, we would be able to say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel” and that we would allow it to continue to transform our lives!