My eight-year-old son attended a summer sports camp at one of our area public schools. One day, he wore a shirt with the words “Jesus Saves Soccer Camp” on it. When he got home, we asked him how camp went. “Bad!” he said. “One boy made fun of me for believing in Jesus, and another said, ‘Jesus is dead!’” That’s hard to hear, isn’t it? When people make fun of your faith, how do you often feel? Ashamed. You can be a lot more than eight years old and still feel ashamed for your faith in Jesus.
That’s why these words from the apostle Paul are such a good encouragement for me: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Not ashamed of Jesus! Why? Despite our sin, Jesus is not ashamed of us. In fact, Jesus loves you so much that he came into our world, received all the insults, beatings, and cross that the world could offer, and rose from dead. Then he promises us eternal life in heaven through faith in him. Let other people say whatever they’d like about us. Why would we be ashamed of Jesus? “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes!”
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