LOVE COVERS SHAME
By Carolyn Dale Newell
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV
Eve was unashamed of her nakedness until sin entered the picture. In Hosea, Gomer stood exposed and embarrassed on the slave block. The woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11) could not lift her head as she stood trembling before Jesus. Sin breeds shame.
But, our human flaws can leave us wishing the floor would swallow us up. It wasn’t Elijah’s finer moment when he ran and hid from Jezebel. A barren woman, such as Hannah or Elizabeth, was sorely looked upon in their day. And Peter inserted his foot into his mouth more times than he wanted to recall.
Scanning the years, I see shame in my sin, as well as those foot-in-the-mouth moments. But I spent many years unsuccessfully trying to hide a visual impairment which embarrassed me.
Name-calling and few friends exasperated the problem. Until one day, I had to use the tools which could help me or become a hermit. By that point, I was in my late forties, and I didn’t really care what people thought.
Do you ever experience regret? Just like Eve, Gomer, Peter or me? shame exposes us. It makes us feel vulnerable, but Jesus brought good news. Love covers what shame uncovers.
As her accusers stood ready to pick up stones to throw at this nameless woman in John’s gospel, Jesus stooped and wrote in the sand. Nobody knows what He wrote, but the same hand that wrote in the sand was the same hand that took the nails for this sinful, shameful lady. The same hand that took the nails for us.
Maybe the word in the sand was “redeemed.” Bought at a price.
Hosea bought Gomer back for a price equal to Thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. The same price Jesus was betrayed for. But we have been purchased with something more valuable than precious metals. We were bought with precious blood. The blood of Christ covers our sin. His love covers our nakedness.
Friend, Jesus doesn’t want you to continue living ashamed. If the matter is sin, Jesus will forgive. Jesus saves. Seek Him and repent.
If your shame arises from your humanness or something beyond your control, look into the mirror of Christ. See the you Christ sees. The masterpiece worth dying for (Eph. 2:10).
Lord Jesus, I leave my shame at the foot of the cross. Thank You for bearing it along with my sin. I want to know You as Savior and Lord of my life. Help me see myself through Your eyes. In Your name, I pray. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
Read John 8:3-11.
HIKING THE TRAIL
What creates your feelings of shame? Pray about it. If it is sin, are you ready to repent? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? What human flaws or things beyond your control cause you to be ashamed? Commit these to prayer until you truly see the you God sees.
Copyright 2018 Carolyn Dale Newell.
A Mountain of Faith 