Authenticity...living integrity. living open. living without compromise.
I was a bit on edge that day. Excited and very hopeful, but I sensed my heart was going to get exposed. As I sat with a friend, the conversation took an interesting twist; I watched my friend begin to unravel revelation with the best words one could use...but the mind couldn't articulate what the heart had found. The crux of the revelation...
It has all been accomplished-- no striving necessary, just discovery.
Do I believe is has all been accomplished-- and does my life reflect that truth?
Am I trying to gain what has already been given?
Lately, in several situations or conversations-- including that one, I have heard (yes, without being naive I know I listen through my own filter) the phrase, "you are amazing, but..." Oh, how this phrase has rocked my core. I am acutely aware of how quick my response is to perform my way into the good favor of relationships. And sadly, found I was still under the false premise that performance works with God too! I can preach it with the best of them...but we all know layers of disappoint, misconceptions, false teachings, and complacency will cause us to build habits that simply do not line up with the Word of God. But truth sets us free-- Praise God! I am watching in all these situations, my acceptance being measured...and I was finding out that I did not measure up to the standards placed before me. My heart was growing uneasy. Unwilling to accept rejection as my answer...I began to seek truth-- precept upon precept.
A crossroad appeared... authenticity or performance. It was my choice in how to respond to the standards set before me; but one road is certainly less traveled by. The question is no longer where I am headed...but how. Christ paid the price from my life-- and through Him I have been saved and sanctified. So life is no longer about finding salvation (striving) but living salvation (resting). Authenticity means I know who I am through the New Covenant. Performance means I still believe a sacrifice must be made to make me acceptable. I believe that only through an authentic lifestyle of true identity can we rejoice in all trials. Will I sing in prison? Will I rejoice with chains? Only if I know the truth-- that it has all been accomplished through Christ. The road by authenticity will ask of me to believe. The road by performance will ask of me to work. The road by authenticity will require understanding. The road by performance will require knowledge. The road by authenticity will demand trust. The road by performance will depend on me.
I am weary of performing; weary of weighing the opinions of others and myself…
I am choosing the road of authenticity…embracing at new level all that Christ has accomplished.
Now it is time for a season of discovery – may this journey be rich and long.
"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and
confidence shall be your strength." Isaiah 30:15
