Shame is much easier to wear than grace. Shame is what we know. We’re accustomed to its fit, its feel. We never seem to be enough. We are always falling short. And so we move through life weighed down by an unnecessary burden.

On the hill of Calvary
The light of all the world
With the world on his shoulders
The weight of all our shame

Shame takes over whenever we lose sight of the cross. Without the cross, our sin defines us. No matter how long you’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ, the temptation to go back to our old way remains, the way of the law.

We like the law because it gives us a sense that we’re earning our keep. Follow these rules, and you’re safe. Break them, and you’ve failed. But the gospel flips this legalistic thinking upside-down. “Therefore,” writes Paul in Romans, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son.” (Rom. 8:1-3)

When Jesus died on the cross on Calvary, he set us free from sin and shame. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

By his wounds I am set free
By his blood I’ve been redeemed
The great divide he crossed for me
Oh, praise the God of Calvary

By his wounds we were healed, and we are now a new creation, children of a God who bridged the divide between us with his son, Jesus. Let’s exchange our clothes of shame and be clothed in grace instead. Walking and living in this gift given to us by the God of Calvary.

Based on the song God Of Calvary by Chris Tomlin. Original post available on YouVersion based on the album Never Lose Sight.