Am I Ashamed?

Better late than never, right??

This past week, I started meeting a girl from work, and a friend of hers, for a bible study in the evening. We meet at a little independent coffee shop/cafe that sells all sorts of Filipino food. We're studying the book of Romans by my man, St. Paul. I've always had a particular sweet spot for St. Paul because he's my nominee for greatest and most dramatic turn-around story (courtesy of God).

In a lot of ways, I'm the odd man out--not that I feel that way. I'm the only student from UC (the other girls go to Purdue) and I'm also the only Catholic. However, in many ways I'm so thrilled that she asked me and our differences are so small in Christ.

We all talked a lot, answering the discussion questions and follow-up questions we each had. The girls have had wonderfully different experiences from me, and the discussions were as entertaining as they were enlightening. Due to the large volume of talking, we only made it through the first part of the first chapter. However, St. Paul still managed to hit me over the head with something.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

Wow. If only I could say, without making myself a liar, that I wasn't ever ashamed of the gospel of Christ.  How often I've avoided living the gospel or sharing it, for fear--of what? Paul had the fear of persecution, unto death, and I'm afraid of offending someone or over-stepping the boundaries. My new prayer is to be fearlessly unashamed, just as God is fearlessly unashamed of me.