"He Is Not Ashamed"

I will never forget a story that I heard from a friend of mine, Jim McGuiggan. It went something like this and I will make a point with it:

There was a fellow who was an alcoholic. He lived on the street with other street people down and out. He begged for money from anyone and would use what he obtained for buying more booze. He smelled bad, looked bad, dressed bad and had the shakes, but he always bragged to others about his better days. He told of stories how he was respected and had influential friends from the area. His fellow boozers and street dwellers never believed a word he said. The would tell him, "You were always nothing, you are nothing now and you will always be nothing!" The more they poured it on and scorned him, the more he felt the need to spread his stories. One day while he was talking about his respectable past and the others were mocking him, he looked across the street and saw a well dressed, well known man of the community who was successful in business. In desperation, the man on "skid row" bellowed out to the others he knew the man and in former years they were best friends! Suddenly, his fellow boozers called his hand, calling him a liar and urged him to prove his claims by going over and speaking with this respectable man. What was the alcoholic to do now? He felt he had no option. He walked across the street and with a soft tone and a hurtful look on his face said, "Sir, I am so sorry to bother you. I do not want money. Please, please, will you pretend you know me?" The well dressed stranger quickly sized up the situation, looking across the street at the other fellows and in one quick, loud move, he let out a "where have you been?" and threw his arms around him, shaking his hand. He put his arm around his shoulder and said loudly enough, "I haven't seen you in years. I wondered what happened to you and where you were." They slowly walked down the street together and the complete stranger took him into a place to get him cleaned up, had his hair cut, put new clothes on him, fed him and put some money in his pocket. Finally, the respectable man went on his way and the alcoholic went back to "skid row" but now he had some substance to his stories. Someone refused to be ashamed of him!

I really like that story! It tells us something of ourselves. Too many of us make life too complicated and we are too busy to step back and take notice of who we really are and what has happened to us. We think we are strong or well off, when we are really a lot like the man on "skid row." Oh, we may not be an alcoholic but we live lives that are weak and frittering away only wishing we had something better. Open your eyes of faith and look. Open your spiritual ears to allow the word to effect the heart and listen. There came One refusing to be ashamed of us. This One does not offer us material things and a temporary relief. He offers us His name! He gives us a permanent cleansing and a permanent home. He offers to give us riches beyond money and homes. We are the instruments of his compassion and rescue. Yet for so many, they love to be cleaned up...for a while, they love the attention given...for a while...they love the new name they live with...for a while and then go right back to living on "skid row" with just nothing but memories that will one day fade away. Too many live weak and shallow lives forgetting that "He is not ashamed to call them brethren." (Heb. 2:11)