Accepting the pain of shame
by John Piper
- There is a kind of shame that you shouldn’t be ashamed of.
- You may be saying.
- “Then it’s not really a shame.
- ” But the Bible calls it shame.
- And it really does sound like shame.
- Until a miracle occurs in our hearts and inverts our sense of values.
The reason this is important to me is that I am still learning, sometimes I think: start learning, how to accept this shame. I really say “ACCEPT,” not just tolerate, the unpleasant feeling of being ashamed. Until I learn this more completely, I will never be, among the unbelievers, the kind of witness God calls me to be.
Where do I come from with this strange idea of accepting shame?I removed it from the story of Peter and the Apostles in Acts 5, they were arrested and imprisoned for healing a man and preaching Christ (v. 18). That night, an angel of the Lord freed the Apostles and told them to go to the temple and preach?Every word of this life? (v. 20). But again, the Sanedir and the high priests took them into custody and accused them of fulfilling Jerusalem with their doctrine (v. 28). “We expressly order you not to teach under this name.
Peter answered courageously by saying, “Is it more important to obey God than to men?”(V. 29). The Sanedir was ready to kill them, when Gamaliel, master of the law, stood up and said, “Give these men a hand, leave them; for if this counsel or work comes from men, it will perish; but if it comes from God, you won’t be able to destroy it, not if you find yourself fighting God, and you agree with him?(Vv. 38. 39) . With this, the members of the Council changed their plans, whipped them, and, ordering them not to speak in the name of Jesus, freed them?(v. 40).
Then we read one of the most impressive verses in the scriptures
And they withdrew from the Sanhedren, joyful to be considered worthy of affront by this Name (v. 41).
Read these words slowly and let them penetrate your soul.
Notice two things
First, the apostles were ashamed. They suffered “affronts. ” To be turned into a spectacle by the venerable leaders of their people, to be treated like evil criminals, to be naked (at least) by the waist and to be so painfully wounded, which brought them to the point of screaming and crying with deep sobs of pain?It’s a moment full of shame. The Bible calls it shame and it’s horrible.
Secondly, they rejoiced in this shame. Use your imagination. This isn’t a joke. It is not romantic, it is not a heroic and noble moment, with sublime music and thousands of spectators, it is a terrible thing. The pain is unbearable. This can lead to death. There’s no help. It’s humiliating. But the apostles did not protest, were uneasy about the loss of their rights, or curse their enemies. On the contrary, the apostles sang. They rejoiced that they had “been considered worthy to suffer an affront to the name of Jesus. “
That’s what I mean when I use the phrase “accept the suffering of shame. “Have you ever reached that point? If not, have courage, few of us are still there. What do we want to do, too?Three things:
1. Let’s pray for each other. Let’s be concrete. Let us invoke: “Father, do in me a work of profound transformation, that I may feel joy when I am ashamed of the name of Christ”.
2. We often meditate on Christ’s infinite work, the sweetness of his promises, and the great suffering he endured for our salvation.
3. Let us go to the uncharted territory of Christ’s testimony; if painful feelings of shame arise, let us make this funeral song a song of triumph.
Thus, the world will begin to see what is most precious in the universe: Jesus Christ. Until that happens, we’ll look so much like the people in the world that we’re waiting for, they’ll be less motivated to pay attention. We.
Excerpt from the book: Penetrado pela Palavra, by John Piper Copyright: © Editora FIEL 2009 The reader is authorized to disseminate and distribute this text, provided that it does not change its format, content and / or translation and report the credits of both authors, such as translation and copyright. If in doubt, contact Editora Fiel.