And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5
I watched a salesman one time making his pitch to a prospective customer. He seemed so excited about his product, and he was so animated in his description of its benefits that I was sold on the product myself. And I was not surprised when the prospective customer bought. Afterwards, the salesman told me that his goal in making a presentation was to convince himself that he had the best product in the world. He said, ‘If I am convinced, it will be easy to convince my customer.’ Maybe that’s the reason we have so much trouble getting people interested in the Gospel: we aren’t so terribly excited ourselves about it being the best message in the world.
When Paul says in our text that hope makes not ashamed, he is referring to our attitude about salvation. In a world awash in false doctrines and rejectors of the truth, the Gospel stands alone in its clarity, simplicity, and perfection. The Gospel alone is the truth, Jesus is the only source of eternal life, and the preaching of the cross is our only access to the power of God. When we think about the Gospel and what it means to us, we must surely get excited about it. It is our only source of hope, but what a hope! There is nothing in the Gospel of which we are to be ashamed. So why don’t we spread it more enthusiastically?
Our text reminds us that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. Surely the greatest manifestation of God in this world is the love that sent His Son to the cross to die for you and me. Of all the characteristics of God, His love is the most amazing, especially when we consider how undeserving we are of that love. And within our own hearts, God has placed that love, just as He, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is also residing within. Could you and I tap the resource that is within ourselves, how unstoppable we could be in the proclamation and support of the Gospel! If we could manifest the love that God has given us, if we could exercise the power of the presence of God, how different would be our witness!
Let us consider today how our glorious hope releases us from being timid or ashamed of the Gospel. And let us shed abroad the love of God that has already found residence in our own heart. -Jim MacIntosh