Al»fein»ti/ | by tAWBtNce w auhouse m 3331 LS DOES GOD EMBARRASS YOUf March 6, 1994 Background Scripture: Romans 1:1-17 Devotional Reading: Romans 1:18-25 Writing to the Christian com munity in Rome. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). John Knox, who was one of my seminary professors at Union Theological Seminar in New York, suggests that the rea son Paul brings up this matter is that he must have experienced some temptation to be ashamed of the gospel. Why else would he make a point of saying he is not ashamed of it? I understand that, for there are times when I. too, am led to affirm the very things with which I have wrestled. Whenever I read this Pauline affirmation, I end up asking myself, “What about me? Have I been tempted to be ashamed of the gospel?” At this very moment as I write these words, it is easy for me to join with Paul; No, “...I am not ashamed of the gospel.” But hon esty compels me to admit that there have been times when I have acted as if I was ashamed. EMBARRASSING CORRUPTION To be sure, sometimes it has been a matter of being ashamed not of the gospel but of the church. When the church speaks or acts in a way that the gospel is cheapened or corrupted, that is embarrassing. I am still embarrassed by the Inquisition. During the 1940’s I was embarrassed for all those- in German Christendom who either supported or failed to oppose the Holocaust. I remember back in the 1960’s when I felt keenly embarrassed by the churches’ indifference and sometimes resis tance to the civil rights struggle. But that isn’t what Paul is talk ing about. He’s talking, not about what churches and professed Christians do or say, but about the essential ewe of Christian procla bum of West Virginia University. The rate at which forages grow varies during the growing season. On the average, the cool season perennial grasses commonly grown will produce nearly SO per cent of their total growth during April through June. That compares to about 33 percent of their growth during July and August and 16 per cent from September through the end of the growing season. Stockpiling the excess growth during the spring growing period through mechanical harvesting is necessary to maximize livestock feed on per-acre basis. This makes rotational grazing a must. Rayburn suggests that all graz ing systems need an area for feed ing livestock during periods when pastures are short of growth or too wet to allow livestock to graze without destroying the paddocks. For more information on graz ing, refer to the 1993-1994 Penn State Agronomy Guide or pick up agronomy fact sheets on forage crop production and pasture man agement at your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office. Feather Profs Footnote: "Excellence may be attained if you dream more than others think is practical." ■nation and teaching: salvation by the grace of God as through the cross of Jesus Christ. Have I ever been embarrassed by the gospel itself? (gospel, an old English term used to translate the Greek term evangelion, meaning “good tidings”). sn THE IMPLICATIONS I’ve thought long and hard on this question and my first inclina tion is to say; no, not of the gospel itself. But it occurs to me that 1 there have been times when I have been embarrassed, not so much by the formulation of the gospel, as * by the implications of it. It is easy and safe to proclaim “salvation by grace through faith,” but it is something else to live as though I believe that to be true. If I believe the gospel, then what effect should it have on the way I live my daily life on the way I perceive and treat other people, on the way I respond to those in need, on the values that I hold and follow, on the goals 1 pursue, and on the sources to which I look for my satisfaction or deliverance? The gospel is based upon love, grace and faith and I must admit that, there have been times when I have found this an embarrassment in a culture that is founded upon material gain, worldly success, and popular approval. Embarrassed because love is not “in,” I have hastened to agree with other people that love is often not very practical or realistic. I have sometimes bent over backward to conform to worldly standards of success instead of Christian faith fulness. Fearful of being thought “weak” through the practice of Christian grace, I have spoken “tough” to prove to others that I do not let the gospel get in the way of common sense. Yes, there are times when I have acted as if God was an embarrassment. What about you? Lancaster- Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St Ephrata, PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A SMmtn EMiprit* Robert Q. Campbell General Manager Everett R. Newmenger Managing Editor CapKrisht IN4 by Lancaatar Farming