722 - Everyone Who Believes, Part 2
Spirituality Column #722
September 15, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Everyone Who Believes, Part 2
By Bob Walters
“I am obligated both to the Greeks and non-Greeks, both
to the wise and foolish. That is why I
am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is
the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes …” – Paul, Romans
1:14-16
“Are you ever embarrassed being a Christian?” my old friend
asked me.
In the context of our conversation, I have no doubt that my
great college pal Bo – with whom my wife Pam and I had a great but rare visit
one afternoon a couple of weeks ago in western Indiana – meant it as no
accusation. Rather, he was seriously
wondering how I came to deep Christian faith.
His encounters with church over his lifetime, I surmised, had been
something short of deeply, grippingly, satisfying.
I can’t think of the last time a simple question has led me
on such a joyous continuum of contemplation and prayer. The Bible indeed offers Paul’s powerful words
about not being ashamed of the Gospel; that the Gospel was and is the single
great truth among all life and all humans of all stations and whatever worldly
power they might hold. For Paul in Rome
at that time, his declaration amounted to capital heresy against the “god”
Caesar. “I will tell this truth to
anyone,” Paul was saying.
“If you’re ashamed of me [in life], I’ll be ashamed of
you [at judgment]” Jesus asserts in Mark 8:38 and Luke 9:26. To me, that is the scariest threat in the Bible.
But Bo wasn’t asking about shame or final cosmic divine
judgment. He was simply asking about me,
personally, being “embarrassed” (see 2 Corinthians 7:14 NIV; different word and
tense but same Greek root as “shame”). Bo
wasn’t referring to the behavior, pomposity, or hypocrisy of certain Christians,
nor to recent church scandals, nor to the academic fraud of postmodern,
post-Christian invective levied generally against sincere faith at almost every
university in the world (all my words, not Bo’s).
I gathered that Bo was just wondering if, on a solely
personal level, I ever felt the same weirdness he perceives upon encountering
Christian faith (“believing without seeing” kind of faith), Christian witness
(revealing one’s testimony in public), or Christian practice (worship, prayer,
lingo, or maybe saying grace in public).
Yes, I had.
Fact is, I knew exactly what Bo was asking because 20 years ago
and my entire adult life before that, I felt exactly the same way. I vividly remember cringing the first time I
was in a restaurant and my Christian lunch partner actually said grace, low but
out loud, in public! My eyes looked
around – embarrassed – to see who was watching.
Another fact is, I don’t think I know a Christian who is
embarrassed about being a Christian. The consuming depth of faith, hope, love, the
Bible, church, fellowship and Jesus in Christian life is so huge, obvious, and
self-evident that, as Chesterton wrote, the greater the truth in one’s life,
the harder it is to explain it to others.
You just know it.
So, I understood Bo’s question; it was neither complaint nor
put-down. My knee-jerk response – now –
was what felt like a calm, compassionate, non-condescending, and confident,
“No.” But it was a question, upon
further review, I pray I had been better prepared to answer. Everyone who believes? Give it some thought. More next week.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com)
last saw Bo (before this visit) in 1992.
BTW … that praying, Christian lunch partner Bob mentioned – September
2001 – was Russ Blowers.