Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2
Several years ago, I had a terribly embarrassing experience. My wife and I decided to go out for lunch at a restaurant. I cannot remember what my wife ordered, but I had a hamburger and milkshake. Getting ready to eat my hamburger, I grabbed a bottle of mustard, pointed it at the burger, and squeezed as hard as I could. I heard a pop like a balloon, and all of a sudden, I noticed that there was a blob of mustard on my arm. I said to my wife, “Where did the mustard come from?” Then I glanced around and noticed that there was mustard on the wall across the aisle from where I was sitting. Looking around a little more, I saw another big blob of mustard on the back of the guy sitting behind me. He was wearing a sport coat, and he was trying to see what was on his back because he had felt the mustard hit him. But he could not see it, so he got up and took off his jacket. There it was—the big blob of yellow mustard. Some people at the end of the aisle had seen the whole event transpire, and they started laughing at me. One guy said, “Mustard here, mustard there, mustard everywhere!” I turned around and glared at him and he quieted down. Finally a waiter came to clean up the mess, and then he came over and showed me how to use the bottle of mustard. He explained that you have to first turn the cap clockwise and then squeeze. I really appreciated that.
I was terribly embarrassed about the entire event. I wanted to disappear, but I knew that I had to face the situation, so I turned to the man and asked if I could pay to have his jacked cleaned. Then I noticed a little bit of mustard in his hair! Now I can look back and laugh about it, but at the time I was totally humiliated.
As ashamed as I felt that day, it is over and done with now. However, there is a kind of shame that does not go away with time, and that is the shame of sin. We live in a world where we are told that sin is normal, something that everyone does. We are asked to be tolerant of it, and sinful things are even taught in schools. It is on the television, radio, and in magazines, flaunted like it is normal. But that is not God’s view of sin. It is shameful and a reproach to Him, and if we are ever embarrassed about anything in our lives, it ought to be sin.
There is going to be more than just embarrassment for those who stand before God in eternity with sin in their hearts; there is going to be judgment. Yet that is not God’s will for anyone. Jesus suffered a humiliating death, and He also bore the shame of sin on His shoulders when He hung on the Cross. He did that so we would not have to bear the shame of sin ourselves. How grateful we are that we can live with victory in our hearts and say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”