“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

Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. How could he be? The gospel was indeed good news to Paul. This former persecutor and murderer now had eternal life through Jesus Christ. All his sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus.

Rather than keep this good news to himself, Paul shared it at every opportunity. He wanted others to share in the blessings he had received. Not even imprisonment stopped Paul from preaching eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Being ashamed of good news seems such a strange notion. We have in our possession the very truth that can revolutionize a person’s life. So why would we not share it? Being ashamed of the gospel is like discovering the cure to cancer and keeping it a secret.

It seems absurd, doesn’t it? But if we look at how we live our lives, do we discover that we are indeed ashamed of the gospel?

Do the people around us know us as Christians? Have we asked our neighbors how we can pray for them or invited them to church? Do our co-workers see us reading a Bible or praying before a meal? Have we taken the time to share the gospel with our extended family? Do our children more often see us reading the newspaper or the Bible? Are we ashamed of the gospel? Or are we proclaiming it?

God isn’t asking us to be the next John the Baptist or even the next John Wesley. He doesn’t expect all of us to preach to multitudes. What he does require is that we not hide our light. We need to share it with others.