The Honor of Shame

The Honor of Shame

One of the highest honors that could be bestowed on a follower of Jesus is that of insult and shame. I know it sounds contradictory, but it is true. To suffer shame for the name of Jesus is an honor reserved for the best.

The first recorded incident of violent persecution of Jesus' followers is written in Acts chapter 5. It was actually the second time that the apostles had been incarcerated, but it was the first to be physically harmed. At their first imprisonment they received only a tongue-lashing, but on the second occasion they got a real lashing when they were flogged. As they left the scene of the attack with bloodied backs, the writer of Scripture gives us this amazing description: "...they went rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name."

Think of that - worthy to suffer shame, honored to be dishonored, privileged to be disgraced. We don't tend to see it that way, do we? In our world the most worthy receive the prize, the Super Bowl, the Grammy, the promotion. But for Christ's followers in the arena of this fallen world, the highest prize is sometimes the lowest prison, notoriety is replaced by obscurity, applause by oblivion, ease by hardship.

A young believer from our ministry in central Asia recently experienced it firsthand. Beaten by family members and slashed with a knife because of his new-found faith, he was then abused by the police when he asked for protection. Suffering for the gospel comes in many different forms, some of those expressed in the following terms by one of our veteran workers - one of the best. "No one in their right mind would be doing what we are in the process of doing" he wrote, "... showing up in a new city... winter on the way... finding a house to rent... having a kitchen or bathroom constructed... traveling into mountain villages and getting project buy-in before the snow starts... and learning a new language... We are feeling somewhat overwhelmed.  I think this is the hardest return to the field we have ever done."

To truly embrace the message of the cross is to endure the honor of suffering, hardship and even shame. Though we do not seek it, we must not shun it. It is a badge of honor given to those most worthy of wearing it. Pray for our workers and for those who believe the gospel through their witness, that they might consider it an honor to suffer for His name. May we ourselves live our lives in such a way as to be considered, like the disciples of old, "worthy to suffer shame for His name."