By Rev. Stan Rankin
I remember hearing a story about a mother and her daughter who were shopping in a grocery store when the mother slipped and hit her head on a shelf. When it happened, the mother scrambled to get back on her feet. Surprisingly, the daughter moved away as if she didn’t know the woman who had just fallen. She was embarrassed and ashamed to be seen with her own mother.
The action of that daughter may seem cruel to us. However, we often fail to be identified with one who is even greater than our own parents. Jesus warned of the danger of being ashamed of him in this world. He said, “for whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the son of man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38). Nothing could be more terrible than for Jesus to deny us on the day we stand before him as our God and King.
The mother in this story would never be ashamed of her daughter. She birthed her, fed and cared for her, and watched over her. Stop and think of all the goodness of god in our lives. Just imagine the love and care he has for us. Behold him who cried out on a cruel cross, ‘Father forgive them’. It is Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us. Surely, he is one that we should never be ashamed. Ashamed of our sins? Yes. Ashamed of our Savior? Never!
