Not Ashamed of Christ

Daily Devotional: Day 126

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38, NKJV).

The Son of God was not ashamed to die for your sins. You should not be ashamed to serve Him, either.

 To be a follower of Jesus means you stand for everything He stands for; it also means you are ready to stand by Him and defend His teaching. In private or in public, you hold fast to, and put into practice, what He has taught us. You are not shy, moreover, to take a position so that people know where you stand, what you are for, and what you are against. Jesus Himself knows that there is something about Him that can make people be ashamed of Him. In fact, in 1 Peter 2:8, the Bible says that Jesus is a stone that makes people stumble and a rock that makes people fall. Those who disobey Jesus’ word are the ones who stumble and fall.

There is a growing trend that when we find Jesus’ words ‘harsh’ or ‘too offensive’ for our audience, we skirt around it, sugar-coat it, or soften it to make it more ‘relevant’ and acceptable to people. When we do that we are showing that we are ‘ashamed’ of Jesus and His words. Whatever Jesus taught, He knew exactly what He was saying. It is not our place as disciples to try to ‘sanitize’ His words or ‘humanize’ the Master.

 Whoever wants to follow Jesus faithfully knows that it comes with a cost. People may mock your beliefs. They may call you names, shun you, despise you, or even hate you for pursuing holiness and righteousness. All these things can tempt you to be ‘embarrassed’ about Jesus and His teaching. To avoid dealing with the inconvenience of being faithful to Jesus, you may decide to play it safe by not becoming too committed. Let us remember, however, that Jesus did not play it safe when He had to save us. If He had played it safe, there would be no Calvary, no forgiveness and no salvation for us. If we are the redeemed of the Lord, then we should have no problem sticking our neck out for our Savior and His Gospel. Do not be ashamed of Christ. 

 May the Lord make you a cheerful and fearless Christian in this generation. Amen.

For further study: 2 Timothy 1:1-12