first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees,
you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of
greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside. But according
to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.
Reflect
Paul begins his Letter to the Romans with a statement that could serve as the motto
of his preaching mission: I am not ashamed of the Gospel. Paul never refrained from
preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. He preaching to his fellow Jews, proclaiming
Jesus as the Messiah. He preached to the gentiles, even debating with their philosophers
and those who worshipped other gods. Even though he experienced suffering and
imprisonment, he never stopped preaching the truth of Christ and calling people to
faith and conversion.
Are we ashamed to preach the Gospel by our words and actions? Do we avoid sharing
our faith when others challenge what we believe? Do we speak up when social conditions
or attitudes do not align with what we believe? Too often in our world, people worship
things that are not God. Their vision is limited to the things of this world and they refuse
to see the truth of God. Let us never be ashamed of the Gospel, sharing the
truth of God’s goodness with all those we meet.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023