“I Want To Be Real”
What is it that best describes me and who I want to be? I want to be real. This idea is perhaps that biggest “movement” going on in my life right now. Something I have realized is that for so long I was living under this bogus idea of “Christian Perfection.” But what is Christian Perfectionism? The honest answer is when one is in perfect unity with God. However, we have created our own definition. We have defined Christian Perfection as somebody who never has any problems, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t cuss, and even to some extent, somebody who dresses good for church. Why on earth would we do this!?
As Christian Perfectionists we have let judgment and condemnation overcome to greatest tool we have…love. What do any of these things I have mentioned above have to do with love? Honestly, they don’t. Absolutely none of these things can help you to spread the absolute love of Christ. Now don’t misunderstand me here with things like drinking or cussing. I believe that we must be a good witness to others and so that could involve not drinking or cussing. But the biggest problem is that we don’t admit to having any at all. When people walk into the doors of our churches and communities they feel like outcasts. More importantly, they feel surrounded by people who are being fake. We are broken people, so we must act like it.
This has been the hardest lesson to learn for me. I’ve had to notice when it is that I’m being fake with people. I’ve learned that a lot of my relationships aren’t that authentic and are based off things like what my major is or where I’m from. But the truth is, that it’s uncomfortable to go deeper. I stay safe by staying at the surface. But as I stay safe, I limit God from working. I don’t want to limit God anymore. I want to be real.
I agree that we, as a whole, are a community of masks…”tears of a clown” and all that jazz…yearning for others to “see through us to our real selves.” But when we have opened ourselves totally to Jesus Christ the superficial has less and less meaning. Who cares where you work or what your major is as long as you are honestly seeking and responding to God’s will daily. Maybe the “real” comes when we honestly admit we aren’t seeking Him as we could. I do feel strongly that the Holy Spirit guides us to some of our “real” brothers and sisters…that quickening of the spirit one feels upon meeting…the same experience I had when I met you D. Corp!
I think you are so right. I’ve found myself being the same way and I actually just shared with someone something I’ve never shared with anyone else and it is so freeing. It just really lifts a burden off your shoulders. Then you can really be real with people because you aren’t trying to hide anything. I think it’s really cool that you wrote about that.
I feel you brother! I can’t wait to get to know the REAL YOU!!!
Brother Daniel. I know it’s not easy for you to know how or what to blog…but thanks for the post. I think you’re getting the hang of it. I’ll be real with you if you’re real with me. We’ll have to get Ryan in on this realness too…and we can all be real together. It was fun hanging with you and your peeps the other night.
Daniel, I love the post man. Once we get past the superficiality of all of these things we abstain from to supposedly make us “Christians” and start acknowledging our sinful nature, we can actually be real with each other.