"Shame"

You really ought to be ashamed,

That’s just what they said,

And they really didn’t have to,

Because I had the dread,

Of guilt, regret and feeling bad,

‘Bout all the things I did,

Ran so deeply in my blood,

Since I was just a kid.

And I thought God was angry,

With His hands upon His hips,

And all I ever thought He said,

The words straight from His lips,

Was oh no, look, its you again,

You just can’t get it right,

Disgusted and impatient,

And clearly real uptight,

And I know that we should repent,

And change is what we need,

But I just couldn’t understand,

Though I’d received the seed,

That somehow God still loved me,

And wasn’t really mad,

Wanted just to heal me,

Of all the shame I had.

And in the end that did it,

His love for me won out,

I finally came to realize,

What grace is all about.

And, yes, I felt a lot of shame,

But Jesus was the cure,

To set me free of all my guilt,

And help me know for sure,

That nothing right I ever did,

Could make Him love me more,

And nothing wrong diminished,

The grace- that was the score,

And now shame-free I’m living,

The freedom is so real,

The love of God transforming me,

That is what I feel.

“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…” (Ephesians 3:17-18, NIV)

Paul prays that the Ephesian Christians will be rooted and established in love. This means that their spiritual foundation is love, and nothing less. Understanding God’s love for us solves the problem of shame, regret and condemnation. Then Paul prays that they will understand the dimensions of God’s love. This is knowing something that only God can reveal because it transcends human understanding. He says that if we do, we will filled with all the fullness of God. Because of this God is able to do more than we ask or imagine according to the power at work within us. This power is God’s great love.

Lord, fill us with a revelation of Your love, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Chris Hunt, used by permission. Thanks, Chris, and God bless you.