Not Ashamed

I was at a teen retreat this past weekend and as I listened to some of the testimonies at the end of the week I realized how many of them struggle in the same area I do: witnessing. We know that souls around us are dying and going to hell and that we could tell them how to avoid it, but we can't quite bring ourselves to do it. Later, when we meet with other Christians or hear a convicting message we confess that are utterly disgusted and ashamed with our weak witness and we all solemnly resolve to do better, but we don't. It's bewildering. How can we love Christ so much one moment and be ashamed to mention His name the next?

I definitely haven't figured out the answer to this question, but as I listened to the testimonies from other people I noticed a consistent theme and one that has definitely held true for my own life: we tend to overemphasize our role in witnessing. At college I have met many Christians who really love Christ and truly believe that He is the answer to life's important question but are unwilling to tell the world so because they are afraid that if they speak out they will be associated with some quack religious person on TV or disgraced politician who is a professing Christian. I would like to dismiss this as a flimsy excuse, which it is, but I can't say it doesn't affect me and I suspect I'm not the only one. It's not that we're ashamed of Christ or don't believe in Him, but secretly we are ashamed to be associated with a group of people which is increasingly being labeled – and sadly it is often correctly – as self righteous hypocrites. Knowing that we aren't perfect and that other Christians obviously aren't, we feel as if we have no legs to stand on, like a ladder salesman giving his pitch on top of a very flimsy ladder. It's as if we assume that all Christians need to be perfect before our message has any validity. Have we forgotten that our message to the world is to be like Christ, not to be like other people who call themselves Christians? Are we really so foolish as to believe that the power of the Gospel lies in our good example and not Christ's perfect sacrifice? If that were so -- if the authenticity of the message lies only in the sincerity and integrity of the messengers -- then I would be ashamed to be a Christian, for I have met some very bad messengers. However, it does not. The authority and integrity of the gospel lies in Christ and in Him alone, and it is for that reason only that I am not ashamed to be a Christian.

So many times I focus find myself defending myself or other Christians when I'm witnessing, as if I was the one they had to accept or reject, but I'm not. Most times I would be much better off if I only remembered that I'm only there to introduce them to somebody who's reputation is perfect. Only when you realize that Christianity is more about Christ than it is about us can you tell other people about the power of God and not feel like a phony. It may be true that Christians are the only Bible some people will ever read, but just remember who they are supposed to be reading about. The Bible is about Jesus Christ, not Christians and that is something I need to remember when Satan tries to remind me of why I shouldn't open my mouth.