keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
Hebrews 12:2 HCSB
Man, the last few weeks have seemed to have a heightened sense of pain and struggles around. Talking with brothers, the presence of bitterness, shame, and fear has been circling the conversations. Not any different I know, the last few weeks in comparison to the rest of history, but still, sharing in struggles of emptiness, loss of faith, and other life hurts can take it’s toll on the believer.
As the past hurts and failures pile up on a man, taking it out becomes so important. When kept alone and without companions to speak with, a man’s isolation will always lead him to thoughts of shame, in-ability, and general loneliness. Through sharing of our stories, confidence in Christ is renewed and we are reminded this in the verse above. That key piece “keeping our eyes on Jesus” and not looking back but looking up will break the pattern of shame. Christ never flaunted His task of sacrificial love for us… He wasn’t flashy or boastful about it, instead, KNOWING the joy that lay before Him, he carried on the mission to the cross and DESPISED THE SHAME.
Sometimes i think we forget that Jesus went through the shame to get to the cross. For myself, I can easily focus on His victory and power and HOLY SPIRIT infused work, but I tend to avoid the thought of the shames and pains He endured on my behalf. He was the child of poor parents, a blue collar dad, spit on and ridiculed by the local clergy, abandoned by His friends, let down by His loved ones, and publicly disgraced and murder in front of the masses. He did this for the JOY that lay before Him?
How hard would that have been for me? Can I see far enough past the present to want the distant futures God has in store for myself? Can you? Can we look that far ahead together?
Christ DESPISED THE SHAME… that’s not just conquering it, but crushing, eliminating, erasing, and not getting hung up on it… it’s not only victory over the shame but victory and a bit of rubbing the victory in afterwards. Shame has NO PLACE in the believer’s life thanks to Christ.
There’s a lot more in this simple verse, “as He sat down” can be an entire message in itself, but hear this today… When I place my faith in Christ and surrender myself to Him fully, the SHAME is gone. He fills the void with more of Himself and there is only glory and grace left. Brother, your shame is gone!
Barnabas Man 