16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. 19 Dear brothers, if anyone has slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord and someone helps him understand the Truth again, 20 that person who brings him back to God will have saved a wandering soul from death, bringing about the forgiveness of his many sins. (James 5:16, 19-20 TLB)
Our pastor spoke about authenticity recently, another in his series about being established in our walk with God. As he said many times in the sermon, we finally come to the place of experiencing God's tremendous love for us once we are courageous enough to be the 'real deal' with God and others. There was a point in the sermon where he told us how hard it was for him to develop this authenticity in his own life. Now, you might think it wouldn't be a struggle for a pastor to be 'real', but the truth of the matter is that even pastor's are human! Humans have a hard time sometimes when it comes to not 'hiding' what we really feel, how we really have been behaving, or what our real struggles might just be at that moment. Pride, and sometimes shame, keeps us from being authentic with each other.
At one point, he shared a time when he was really struggling in his life and this is where he established a solid relationship with another guy who was also a Christian in order to really get his life back on track. He put himself in a place of 'accountability' in order to not further bury his real issues and concerns in that season of his life. Let me be the first to admit that this was a pretty bold and brave step to take. Why? It is much easier to bury stuff, putting up a front, than it is to be genuine and bear it for others to see. I think there is this misconception in life that others will judge us for our failures and shortcomings, so we don't share them, even though we so much desire for another to actually help us face them head on and deal with them. Maybe this has proven to be true when we bear them to the wrong individual, but when we get established in a relationship with another committed to helping us grow - someone also walking out this day-to-day life with Christ - we have the opportunity to be real.
Trust is a big part of authenticity - trusting that others will not take what they discover about us and put it out there for the whole world to see. After all, we might be willing to share it with another who will pray for us, give us wisdom as to how they have dealt with the issue themselves, or even just walk with us in discovery of the truth together, but we don't want the entire world to know! We want accountability, but not publicity! Yet, even in the closest of relationships, we sometimes hold back bits and pieces of our 'real self' because we still don't want to let anyone else know that 'side' of us. It is that 'side' of us that needs the healing, though, so not being will to allow discovery of it will significantly impact us coming to know God's love as we should on that 'side' of our lives.
Love requires authenticity - being the real us. We are the closest to God's heart when we are the real us. If there is anything I have learned about authenticity over the years it would have to be that all of life cannot be a masquerade party. The mask has to come off some time. If it doesn't, we will never really discover the way God's love can and will minister to that area of our life where we have been struggling the hardest and the longest to 'live under cover'. Even the most skilled 'cover taker' cannot remain concealed forever. Pride being what it is, we might attempt to mask the 'real us', but that only keeps us from really experiencing the tremendous healing of God's love. Just sayin!
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Showing posts with label Mask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mask. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
What's in your "heart-vault"?
Crowds have a way of pressing in on us, being a little unwieldy, and just plain rude, don't they? Give people enough to "gawk" at and they will congregate quicker than ants on honey. I call them "looky-loos" - they are they for the "show", not for much else. They come to see, certainly not to participate. They come interested in what they might get, not in what they might give away. What draws a crowd? Isn't it the spectacular, the unexpected, and the unusual? Jesus was all of these things. Spectacular - dramatically daring as he went against the Pharisees and dared to challenge their "religious-ness". Unexpected - surprising those who least expected his touch or care with the deepest expressions of his love. Unusual - shocking them with the extraordinary and the uncommon display of power, grace, and wisdom. He was a crowd "gatherer", but he was also a crowd "divider". The same things which drew many to him also set many against him. It was these spectacular, unexpected, and unusual things Jesus said and did which got the dander of the Pharisees up. On the other hand, his disciples may have been drawn in by the same things, but in time, they came to understand him as those in the crowd did not and this was Jesus' greatest joy - someone looking past the spectacular, unexpected and unusual to connect with his heart.
By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. (Luke 12:1-3 MSG)
Although the Pharisees were ever-present in the crowd, their intent was not to find the truth in what Jesus was saying, or to support the work he was doing. Their intent was to discredit, taking the attention away from the "good" he was doing and bringing some type of dishonor to him. Their main concern was the amount of attention he was getting and the little bit of attention they themselves were now attracting. To this end, Jesus calls the attention of his disciples to their actions - not so much because they were a real hindrance to his work, but because he wanted to protect the disciples from their "phoniness". The Pharisees saw themselves as so spiritually mature - above the crowd in their pursuit of all things holy. Jesus knew the shallowness of their "holiness" and his point in calling attention to them on this day was to simply point out the foolishness of trying to "appear" mature when you really are anything but mature.
I guess we could all kind of admit we have done this on occasion - trying to make ourselves look a little more "all together" and "spiritually mature" than we really are on the inside. It is best done by putting forward some type of "rule-keeping" facade. Yet, this type of "religious phoniness" is not going to get us anywhere in God's kingdom. I think this is why Jesus had such great concern for his disciples recognizing this up front. It would have been easy for them to get a little confused - seeing the example of the Pharisees as the "ultimate" experience when it comes to religion. Indeed, it is just that - the ultimate experience when it comes to "religion", but not as it applies to relationship. Jesus' primary concern was, and always will be, for our relationship with him and his heavenly Father.
In looking closely, we might just find there are those who actually practice as modern day "Pharisees" - their lives are pretty shallow under the facades of religion they sport with such pride. You can watch hours and hours of every teacher and preacher on the Christian television stations, but still be shallow. You can read author after author, ingesting all kinds of spiritual self-help books, but be devoid of any real learning. You can speak with all kinds of eloquence and still say nothing. The image is there, but the heart vault is empty. Relationship is the only thing which fills the heart vault!
If we really examine what scripture warns about the Pharisees, we see pretty much the same things over and over again. The warning is against the preoccupation with title, regulations, rules, and rituals. Sometimes we "sport" the title of "Christian" as though it gave us some special privilege or "import" to the world around us, all the while with empty "heart vaults". The heart vault is only filled through deep, lasting, and intimate relationship with the one who helps us move beyond the rules, focusing less on the rituals and more on the genuine sharing of heart with him. You have probably heard the term "legalism" used in modern day churches. If so, what is being described is the modern day practice of Phariseeism. The pursuit of all the rules, but the lack of focus on the heart.
The crowds are drawn by the "show". The Pharisee delights in putting on the "show". The disciple delights in the "connection" created when you get past the "show". Jesus warns against being more concerned with the "show" and what you "know" than in what it is you "experience" while nuzzled right up to his heart. Our heart vault is only filled when we nuzzle! You know what it means to "nuzzle"? Animals "nuzzle" while rooting for food. They have to push through a whole lot of inedible stuff before they get to the sweetness of what lies just beneath the surface. I think Jesus had this in mind when he was speaking with his disciples - getting past the stuff which hides the sweetness he desires for us to experience. I don't know about you, but I am think I'd rather engage in a little nuzzling to find the sweetness he has prepared than spend a whole lot of time protecting the image I "prepare" for the world. I am in pursuit of that which fills the vault of my heart. Maybe we'd all do a little better if we "nuzzled" more and "masked" less. Just sayin!
By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. (Luke 12:1-3 MSG)
Although the Pharisees were ever-present in the crowd, their intent was not to find the truth in what Jesus was saying, or to support the work he was doing. Their intent was to discredit, taking the attention away from the "good" he was doing and bringing some type of dishonor to him. Their main concern was the amount of attention he was getting and the little bit of attention they themselves were now attracting. To this end, Jesus calls the attention of his disciples to their actions - not so much because they were a real hindrance to his work, but because he wanted to protect the disciples from their "phoniness". The Pharisees saw themselves as so spiritually mature - above the crowd in their pursuit of all things holy. Jesus knew the shallowness of their "holiness" and his point in calling attention to them on this day was to simply point out the foolishness of trying to "appear" mature when you really are anything but mature.
I guess we could all kind of admit we have done this on occasion - trying to make ourselves look a little more "all together" and "spiritually mature" than we really are on the inside. It is best done by putting forward some type of "rule-keeping" facade. Yet, this type of "religious phoniness" is not going to get us anywhere in God's kingdom. I think this is why Jesus had such great concern for his disciples recognizing this up front. It would have been easy for them to get a little confused - seeing the example of the Pharisees as the "ultimate" experience when it comes to religion. Indeed, it is just that - the ultimate experience when it comes to "religion", but not as it applies to relationship. Jesus' primary concern was, and always will be, for our relationship with him and his heavenly Father.
In looking closely, we might just find there are those who actually practice as modern day "Pharisees" - their lives are pretty shallow under the facades of religion they sport with such pride. You can watch hours and hours of every teacher and preacher on the Christian television stations, but still be shallow. You can read author after author, ingesting all kinds of spiritual self-help books, but be devoid of any real learning. You can speak with all kinds of eloquence and still say nothing. The image is there, but the heart vault is empty. Relationship is the only thing which fills the heart vault!
If we really examine what scripture warns about the Pharisees, we see pretty much the same things over and over again. The warning is against the preoccupation with title, regulations, rules, and rituals. Sometimes we "sport" the title of "Christian" as though it gave us some special privilege or "import" to the world around us, all the while with empty "heart vaults". The heart vault is only filled through deep, lasting, and intimate relationship with the one who helps us move beyond the rules, focusing less on the rituals and more on the genuine sharing of heart with him. You have probably heard the term "legalism" used in modern day churches. If so, what is being described is the modern day practice of Phariseeism. The pursuit of all the rules, but the lack of focus on the heart.
The crowds are drawn by the "show". The Pharisee delights in putting on the "show". The disciple delights in the "connection" created when you get past the "show". Jesus warns against being more concerned with the "show" and what you "know" than in what it is you "experience" while nuzzled right up to his heart. Our heart vault is only filled when we nuzzle! You know what it means to "nuzzle"? Animals "nuzzle" while rooting for food. They have to push through a whole lot of inedible stuff before they get to the sweetness of what lies just beneath the surface. I think Jesus had this in mind when he was speaking with his disciples - getting past the stuff which hides the sweetness he desires for us to experience. I don't know about you, but I am think I'd rather engage in a little nuzzling to find the sweetness he has prepared than spend a whole lot of time protecting the image I "prepare" for the world. I am in pursuit of that which fills the vault of my heart. Maybe we'd all do a little better if we "nuzzled" more and "masked" less. Just sayin!
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