Romans Photos - 1:16-17 - Ashamed v Proud

Romans 1:16-17 - The Power of the Gospel For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

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My daughter is participating in a really cool program called Girls on the Run - it not only focuses on helping girls stay active and healthy through running, but also staying healthy through teaching about healthy body image, self-respect, respect of others, and so forth. Its a great program and she has loved it. Yesterday was their practice 5K leading up to the “official” 5K they will be doing in a few weeks. I loved seeing each girl running with a running buddy and seeing the smiles and the encouragements that were being offered all along the route. There were chalk words written on the sidewalks along the route encouraging them to stay strong and keep going. Through all the lessons, I love the power of the message for the girls to not be ashamed of who they are - physically, spiritually, emotionally - but be proud of who they are and be proud of who they have been made to be.

This statement of Paul’s to start this part of Romans is a convicting statement to me and I think it should be to many of us. I think we are often ashamed of the Gospel because we are not proud enough to share it. I know that I get ashamed of the church often because of the ways that Christianity is portrayed or enacted by some in the public eye. But I am also ashamed because I am not as willing to share my faith as I should be. If I feel this is the transforming message for peoples’ lives, why not share it as readily as I tell others about a movie I have seen or a game that I watched? For it “is the power of God for salvation to everyone…” This is a message for which we should be proud and share it in word and in deed each day.