I remember as a young adult before I came to believe, how uncomfortable I was around anyone who spoke about the Christian faith. It was something I couldn't explain. In fact it was a mystery to me. All that I know is that I became embarrassed and wanted to stay as far away as possible. In retrospect, I realize it was a subconscious shame that I unknowingly had buried.
I've seen and heard this over and over. Some people describe it as feeling like they are being judged. Others just describe being uncomfortable about discussing religion. Still others strongly object to religious talk as it is a personal matter. The short of it is that people are just uncomfortable around the Christian faith. Where does this come from? Here is what Jesus taught:
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
- Jesus quoted in John 3:19-20
I know this sounds a harsh, but I hope I can clarify it. God, in his holy character, is the essense and source of all that is good: love, mercy, grace, kindness, compassionate. More than that, His love has been directed toward mankind. From the book of Psalms, it says:
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. -Psalm 145:8-9
Here is the basis for our shame and what the Bible calls evil. God has created us with an innate knowledge of his goodness and love. Yet we have no natural appreciation nor affection for God. We have ignored him and live for ourselves. Our shame comes out when our lack of love for God is exposed. That is why we are uncomfortable around others who do seem to love Him.
In the story of Adam and Eve, when they acted evil toward God, they responded to their shame by hiding from God and trying to figuratively cover it with fig leaves. Likewise, the are various ways people try to cover or hide their shame. One way could be to use labels: "Oh, you are a religious person. I'm just not a religious person." Another way is to take up a position of unbelief. If I can rationalize God away, then my shame is not real and I can ignore it. Some people make a life effort out of dissecting the Bible to provide excuses to reject it veracity. Others respond in anger and lash out toward those who believe actively trying to descredit, villify or even persecute those who love Jesus.
I have been guilty of most of these! So, how does a person move from shame and unbelief to faith and acceptance? The answer is the gospel message that our sin is taken away, removed and forgiven in Christ. All of us have guilt and shame. But God wants to clothe us in His righteousness, not ours. You can love him because he first loved you! He has promised to give His Holy Spirit to you and I-- The Spirit of God, who will dwell in all who believe and teach us to love God. The Spirit is the one who opens our eyes to God's love in Christ:
Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
This is the Christian experience of what we call being born again or what theologians call "regeneration". It is that life changing event when the love of God becomes a reality in the soul, and the weight of guilt gives way to a joyful sense of forgiveness and cleansing. The heart is turned away from shame toward love for the Lord. This was my experience and the many other whom "God is reconciling to himself in Christ, not counting their sins against them".
This is the promise of old that God gave that if we seek him, we will find him. So, if you are reading this and you know that your are uncomfortable and ashamed with the Christian faith, heed God's promise that you will find him if you seek him. You will receive His Spirit if you ask and you will enter into that glorious freedom of the children of God!
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