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Being a Child of God: Unashamed
Think back on your life for a minute and I’m sure you can think of many things that have happened that just make you think, “Wow. I can’t believe that happened. What was I thinking?” It’s something you’re ashamed of. Something you wish hadn’t happened and something you wish you wouldn’t think about. That’s not something you really want to talk about with others. You want to move on and just forget about it. It’s happened to all of us.
Let’s contrast that. When you talk to a small child, the conversation will very likely and very quickly become about something that the child greatly enjoys and wants to talk about, whether it be a toy they’re fond of or something they did that day that made them happy. You can tell how much they enjoy it because you see the big smile on their face as they talk.
This leads to the question, which of these are we when it comes to being a Christian? Is it something that we shy away from talking about, or is it something that excites us and gets us passionate as the child is about their toy? Romans 1:16 tells us to not be ashamed and that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. What exactly is there to be ashamed about that?
Being a Christian not only has an impact on your life, but it can also affect others. I’ve heard of friends watching their language around certain people because they know they’re a Christian and don’t like that language. I’ve heard of coworkers not inviting them to events or parties where alcohol will be present because they know they’re a Christian and won’t participate. That doesn’t mean that the opposite doesn’t happen either. Some people will continue to pressure you to participate and others will resort to words and name-calling to put you down for not doing what the world does. I know from first-hand experience that words absolutely do hurt.
But what exactly are they going to say that is so offensive? "Church boy/girl"? I say thank you. There should be nothing wrong with being known for being a child of God.
Sometimes, there’s this feeling that by saying something about God, it will either make no impact or cause them to ridicule. But the gospel “… is the power of God unto salvation.” We think that we have to say something profound that’s beyond our abilities, and we forget that it is the word of God. We think that we have to swing it as hard as we possibly can for anything we say to have any effect. When dealing with the word of God, we just have to put it out there and let the word does what it does.
It can be easy to forget how powerful God’s word is, but we mustn’t. People of the world want to say the Bible is a dead book, or it’s just a storybook. It’s far from that. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). It’s alive still today and it’s the book that is able to save souls. In the age of social media, it’s so easy to get the Word out and simply spread a word of encouragement to people. You never know what kind of impact it can have.
Hebrews 11 gives us example after example of people in the Bible showing their faith, and often in times of trial and danger. It’s so easy for them and us today to cower in fear, but they didn’t and we shouldn’t. We have no reason to be ashamed.
We are told that when we suffer for being a Christian, we are to not only not be ashamed, but to glorify God, rejoice, and that remember that we are blessed (1 Peter 4:16, Matthew 5:11-12)! Glorify God? Rejoice? Blessed? Those are not words we associate with suffering. We can do it because we know we are doing His will and that He will deliver us. We know that He will keep what we have entrusted to Him until He comes again (2 Timothy 1:12).
Being a child of God is not something we should be ashamed of, but rather something to feel blessed to be a part of. Remember that it’s not about this life, but the next. God is on your side and He will get you through whatever it is you’re going through. He will be there whenever you need Him and He’ll be there to take you home.
