I’m an Auburn Tiger football fan. Have been since I can
remember. Will be till I die. Quite honestly, this wasn’t the best year to
root for the Tigers. Our record was pathetic
and a bit embarrassing, but each week I kept cheering loudly for my team and
proudly wearing Auburn attire. Win,
lose, or draw (which, of course, is no longer an option in college football),
I’m not ashamed to be shouting “War Eagle!”
Sadly, and seriously, sometimes it’s easier to be bold about
football than faith. I’m not saying you
shouldn’t be a sports fan or that if you aren’t yelling in church, preaching to
your co-workers, sporting Christian t-shirts, and displaying a silver fish on
your car, you aren’t proud to be a
believer, I’m just wondering if maybe we aren’t a bit too shy about the good
news that saved us. Paul wasn’t, and he
was sure to say so. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the
salvation of everyone who believes”(Romans 1:16).
In those days, believing that God became a man in Jesus
Christ who lived and died and rose again as the only way for us to know God and
be with Him now and forever was considered by the vast majority to be foolish,
ignorant, and intolerant. Sounds like
those days are a lot like our days, so please don’t let the mere opinions of
others cause you to downplay the most incredible reality of eternity. Yes, such a God-story sounds crazy, but it’s
crazy true!
My team’s losing record would have been good reason this
season to only mumble my allegiance, but, as Christians, we have no valid
excuse for wimpy murmurs or half-hidden acknowledgements. The good news of God’s grace will never be
defeated. It may be denounced, denied,
disputed, debated, disallowed, and disdained, but the fact remains that only
the gospel “is the power of God for
salvation.”
In your actions, never be
ashamed to show so.
In your words, never be ashamed
to say so.
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