You don’t see it much anymore, but when sports teams used to be really bad, fans would wear paper bags over their heads during games. They were at the game, but ashamed of their team and didn’t want anyone to know who they were.

Jesus did many miracles and amazed people daily. No one saw this more than His disciples. They were front-row fans, so to speak. One day, Jesus told them that if they truly believed who He was, they would not be ashamed of Him and His message. Like the fans of old, one of His disciples, Peter, became ashamed of Jesus to the point of publicly denying Him—not once, but three times!

Are we ever ashamed to be known as Christians? Do we hide our faith by putting an invisible bag of shame on our heads? Is it OK to sit in church or a huddle with godly friends, then put the bag on when we leave? I say it’s time to take the bag off for good. We’re either fans, or we’re not. We either follow Christ, or we don’t. It’s simple. We are the ones who complicate it, not Christ.