Authenticity In Christ!

I will venture to say I am not the only one in the Christian faith that struggle with authenticity. We all do. We are told constantly who we are to be, how we are to look, how to speak, went to speak, when not to speak, how to dress, how not to dress, what to eat, what not to eat, what’s acceptable, and what’s not acceptable. 

Many of these things are not based on spiritual truths. They are often based off of cultural expectations and the approval of others. ‘They’ set the standards, and we are to follow.

If we don’t, we are “weird.” Some are even categorized as hippies. It can be very difficult for the Christian, but we are not of this world. We are not to act like this world. Our authenticity is unique and that is what sets us apart, which then brings glory to God.

WHAT IS AUTHENTICITY?

First I want to clarify what authenticity is from a simple dictionary. Authenticity is “the quality of being authentic.” The definition of authentic is “real or genuine: not copied or false: true and accurate: made to be or look just like an original.”

Let’s start with real and genuine. Can I raise my hand, with the few ladies that are after the person who decided SHAVING is necessary? I’m just saying! I would be okay if the cultural norm went back to ‘real and genuine’ in the sense of no shaving. But...that’s a different story.

GOD MADE US UNIQUE!

God made us unique. He created us in the womb of our mother, He was the first one to ever see us. Isn’t that an amazing thought? When we try to be something other than what He purposed us to be, then what are we saying about our Creator?

Does He make mistakes? Of course not! We must walk in the way He created us and not in the way that society has determined acceptable.

BUT, WE ARE FLOODED!

Nevertheless, it’s hard girl! I mean, we have to keep our minds centered on God‘s truth. Soon as we turn on our phone, there it is! Tons of the world bombarding us with what they have to say.

We walk out the door…Turn on the radio, and boom there it is again! It’s even in the music. We go to the grocery store and the music is being played, boom there it is again.

Wait, look at the magazines that we just passed, there it is again. It’s another seed planted of what is acceptable.

Oh, look at that model on the clothing rack, and that model on that package of food. Good grief, it’s everywhere! How are we to resist that which never stops flooding us?

HOW TO RESIST?

We have to flood ourselves with truth- Which is Scripture. With what God thinks of us. Thank God, He has not forgotten to tell us what He loves. He hasn’t missed telling us what He hates.  

He provided us a book, His Word. It tells us and instructs us in the way that He sees fit and in the way that is truly good for us! He is not withholding precious things from us while letting the world have all the fun.

No, the world is empty, but those who are in Christ are full. We must fight in order to be real and genuine, the way God made us. He makes no mistakes.

THE BODY OF CHRIST!

I love the picture of the Body of Christ. I think about it every day, because it’s so helpful! When it comes to being authentic, genuine, true and not copies of each other, looking at the Body of Christ and how God designed it to work is an awesome way of seeing the importance of authenticity in the Christian walk.

God did not make the Body of Christ one arm. He didn’t make the whole body of Christ one eye. No, He made the Body of Christ complex.

He made the Body of Christ with many many parts. Parts that we may never know in its fullness. However, we know there is a purpose for each part.

MANY PARTS, BUT WITH PURPOSE!

We have lungs, hearts, toes, fingers, and a brain made up of many neurons. We have vessels, nerve endings, ankles, ears, and that doesn’t even touch the rest of our complex bodies. This is what our Father related the Body of Christ to.

I love this because you and I don’t have to be the same thing in order to be important or useful to God. You can be an ankle and I can be a toe and we are both good, girl!

COPIES OF CHRIST!

There is no good in trying to be copies of each other. Seriously, how does that glorify God? He did not design it that way. We are to be the hands and feet of God on this earth. 

How can that happen when the whole body is just a wrist? I think you get what I mean by now. We have to ask God to help us not be copies of each other but to be a copy of Christ.

That we would become copies of Christ in the way He has made us- within our personalities, past experiences, loves, and dislikes. All of that can be made useful in a way we honor and glorify God. In a way that only you can be used.

TO LOOK LIKE THE ORIGINAL!

One of the things that stuck out to me in the definition of authenticity is “made to be or look like an original.” Our ‘original’ is God. He said in Genesis, that we were made in the image of Himself.

How amazing and incredible that is sis!? We could never really understand the magnitude of what that means. But, it does mean that instead of setting our eyes on people that we admire, we set our eyes on the original, on God, in and effort to be just like Him.

EARNESTLY SEEKING!

We are striving to become more like our Maker, instead of His creation. That is when we are walking in our purpose.

We have to genuinely seek the Original. We must learn to look like the Original, and the only way we can look like the Original is if we are seeking Him daily.

How can we strive to look like the Original if, we don’t know the Original? We can’t try to become something that we don’t know.

WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Also, we can’t become like the original without the help of the Holy Spirit. We have to lean on Him. We have to abide in the Vine, Christ!

Well, a book can be written about authenticity. Actually I’m pretty sure there are tons of books right now on the topic. But, as a little bit of encouragement, seek to be real and genuine.

THE REAL YOU!

You want the people around you to love the REAL you, not the FAKE you. Not some copied version of someone else. We need you! We need community, and we need community with all of its uniqueness.

I struggle with this off and on. I certainly don’t like it, but I believe many Christians struggle with. And, let me tell you something sister...

NO SLAVERY TO OTHERS

We don’t have to live in slavery to the world’s opinions. We don’t even have to live in slavery to what other Christian's say we should be like.

We only have to be what God has said we are to be. If we are walking in step with Christ, we are walking in step with our true authenticity.

So, lets be women who seek the Original and who lean fully on the Holy Spirit to walk in step with Christ.

 Praise God from whom all blessings flow!