Unashamed

I chose the verse at the top of my blog very intentionally. Every phrase has some sort of identifiable significance to the way I live my life and understand myself in relationship to God. In particular that little phrase, "who does not need to be ashamed" continues to return to me as a reminder of the completeness of the freedom we gain in Christ. I love that I have no reason to be ashamed. I think Christians often carry around shame from two perspectives. First, we feel shame of our faith. We feel ashamed that we believe something that is so controversial and polarizing. We are afraid of the potential conflict that our faith poses to the culture around us. We shy away from proclaiming the things we believe and trust for fear of rejection and misunderstanding from our peers. In a much more veiled way we often carry around with us a shame of the tension between sinfulness and piety. Within the community of faith there is a shaming of sin. Condemnation within the walls is very present, and it is difficult to be a Christian and feel allowed to fall and confess because of this overarching shame. Additionally, we are ashamed to be living out the process of sanctification. We are ashamed to live in the fullness of a relationship with God as though our faithfulness is a commentary of pride over those wallowing in sin around us. How did we degenerate to this? Where is the freedom?

I have learned that the best way to combat all of this shame, which is not from our Father is to surround yourself with people that love you enough to see you in Truth. It is vital to fortify your spirit with Truth, and the easiest way to do that is to have people speaking unashamed truth into your life. These are people that see all the muck, but also see all of the hidden treasures, and love you enough to call you out when you are wrong while waiting to encourage you when you are right. This has been my prayer recently. I long for relationships in Wilmore in which foundationally we see each other in truth: good and bad. If it weren’t for the people in my life that I give permission to tell me “No” when I need it, I would be a very different person. I don’t know if I would be an ego maniac or a shell of a soul, but I know I would be different. It is in the brokenness of man that God can truly work. We should not be ashamed of our sin because if we continue to hide it, how will we ever let go of it? I value authenticity, and I believe that God does too. He will sanctify, but we first have to recognize our need for Him.

Soundtrack: Unashamed Love, Travis Cottrell