Image and impression seems to be everything to many. It is how we look, how popular we are, or how successful we are or seem to be. The world has developed the art of portraying an image and life that is not reality. Recently I read an article in which Martha Stewart and Brittany Spears stated they were looking, but could not find, a reliable good man. Previously they had picked some men from the glitz and glamour of society and found out that they were not what they appeared to be or what they wanted.

People can portray themselves with an unauthentic front of what they would like to be, or what they fantasize they wish they were, but has very little reality in it. Unfortunately, this has migrated into the modern day church. We too have developed the mode and role of looking the part, confessing the part and emotionally being a part of worship, but are we as real as we should be?

In Phillip Yancy’s book, “What’s so amazing about Grace” he talks about meeting a prostitute on the streets and sharing the message of Christ with her. When Yancy gently suggested that she might seek out a church, she looked at him and said, “Why would I want to do that?” As Yancy goes on to say, “In her mind, walking into a room full of perfect Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe action figures that cover up their failures, pretending perfection and everything’s all right when many times it’s not, was not for her.”

This points out clearly that what the hurting world wants to see out of the church today is not glitz and glamour but authenticity. What does authenticity mean? It means that we care about how we look and our dress and the way we portray ourselves to others; but we also have flaws and sins we cannot deny. It means to openly confess when we fail and to give Jesus all the praise and glory if there is any good thing that we do or have in us.

Truly balanced Christians admit, and rightly so, that we are just hurting forgiven sinners, striving to please our Savior, in which God loves and answers our prayers, oftentimes despite ourselves. Now that’s real and genuine and what the world is looking for. The world is watching us closely (much closer than Christians understand,) to see if we are real. This means for some of us that it is adjustment time in our lives! It’s time to check our attitudes and what we believe, to see if we act like we’re holier than others. And what about when we feel that because of grace we have license to sin while others unsaved don’t?

It is right that we should strive to live good and holy and certainly we need to believe God for deliverance and help; but let us also let the world see that without Jesus we are just like them, weak and vulnerable. The pitfall that we believers can grow to believe is that we are better than anyone else; that we are deeper than anyone else; or that we are stronger in faith than anyone else. Paul the apostle clears up these personal false assumptions and inflated estimations of ourselves by relating what we still are without our total dependence upon Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28, 29-31

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame
the wise; God chose the weak things of the world
to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and despised
things…and the things that are not…to nullify the
things that are…so that no one may boast before him.
It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God…that is
our righteousness, holiness and redemption, therefore
it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”

May I ask the question, “Where are you and me in our faith or our righteousness in these scriptures?” No where! Rather we are the foolish, the weak, the despised, and the things that are naught! “May I ask where Jesus is in these scriptures?” He is your wisdom, your righteousness, your holiness and your redemption! He is there to save you and keep you in your salvation. Realize that our salvation is an “all Jesus salvation.”

Of course we should try to live right and to please Christ. But when our puny efforts are said and done, it is only God who imputes Christ’s righteousness upon us that makes us perfect in the Father’s eyes. So be real in your testimony and your faithfulness to God and obeying his word. We should stop our pretenses or self estimations that we are better, deeper, or more holy than any other believer. That’s not God…that is hypocrisy. Then the world will see us better and authentic because of the Jesus in us and Christ is the only one better than us or the world.

What can we do to be authentic? Clothe yourselves with humbleness and humility, tell others of Jesus, but let them know that but for the grace of God we would not be a better person than what we are. And then let them know that Jesus loves them, died for them, rose from the grave for them, and will come into their lives and give them eternal life; that Jesus will accept them like they are but He will not leave them in the same condition as they were. Now that example is a Christian life that is real and authentic!

Pastor Jim