Photoshopped Christians: Masks And False Testimony
Are we photo-shopped Christians?
I was talking to my spiritual connection today about how we all tend to wear Christian masks. I am not blaming anyone but just stating the reality of the situation. When we hear ministers testify about their lives, though we praise God for what they say, it seems like that type of successful Christian life is beyond our reach. The fact of the matter is, though, that 90% of what those people have gone through is crap and they are only talking about the 10% that looks good. We are, like the girl above, photoshopped Christians.
Just keepin’ it real
Yes, I said “crap” intentionally. I used that word because that is what “real people” say. Even Christians, when they are not in church or around each another Christian use swear words. Yes, among each other we “clean it up” to make things conform to what is acceptable but that is not who we are.
Would you like to see my plastic Jesus?
The question remains, do we dare to become authentic. Do we risk being who we really are and not who we think others want us to be? God isn’t fooled so why should we want to fool others into thinking we are better than we are? When we do we give a “False Testimony.”
Brethren, let’s get off our high horses and come back down to earth. Why not be who we really are and have honest to goodness fellowship with one another. Isn’t it high time we be real?
I tell you the truth, the world despises Christians and our Savior because they know that we are posers. People who need to know Christ only get to see our plastic imitation of Him. If we would just show them Jesus Christ they would believe, but because we are so busy showing them our caricature of him, they just can’t stomach us because we are not authentic.
Should we dare to be authentic?
I am going to experiment with being authentic. As much as lies within me I am going to be exactly who I am in Christ. I don’t want to sugar coat anything anymore. What we all need is Jesus and He was the most authentic person of all time. I think that is the example I want to follow.
God bless,
Just a thought, someone may sense the presents of the Holy Spirit in another person and get feedback, but when that person becomes involved with another through ‘spiritual connection’, particular one of the opposite sex, the lines become blurred.
The other thought is, if someone is in a true marriage relationship, wouldn’t the other person recognize that spiritually connection as well? Since we live in the age of grace, forcing another to live with an arrangement not agreed upon is just as wrong as living in an arrangement not entirely approved of by God. However, God does allow marriage relationships that are not the best to take place to guide individuals where He wants them to be. ‘Spiritual connection’, when it comes to the opposite sex is better defined in plural marriage of the new testament framework.
Just trying to be real.
Hi Curtis,
This is a bit of a brain twister isn’t it. I suppose that until you experience a spiritual connect and the love of God through another person, it is difficult to imagine how it works. Spiritual connections respect and honor the marriage relationship, unless and if, God does not approve of your current mate. In those special instances God may institute an divine divorce.
Generally though, a spiritual union does not want to interfere with an existing marriage but is only interested in loving their connection as they are Spirit led. Depending on what God deems is needed that can mean many things, but the Holy Spirit does not lead people to cross the marriage line. That is why connections, no matter how much love they feel, don’t have sex with each other unless the are to be married. The Holy Spirit simply does not want to do with unmarried people and so connections have no interest in doing that.
I think that God does work in and through faulty marriage relationships but I don’t think it is His first choice. Only God knows the hearts of men and women and so only He is qualified to know how to handle affairs of the heart.
Spiritual connections run the gambit from simple friends to divine marriage and everything in-between. It is too varied to define except in general terms. That is why we are led by His Spirit and are admonished not to judge another man’s servant. We simply yield to God and allow Him to lead and guide us individually.
Certainly, plural marriage is allowed if led by God’s Spirit. Even celibacy is allowed if led by God’s spirit. Mostly, monogamy is allowed as God leads by His Spirit. Even divorce is allowed, in certain circumstances, by God’s spirit. The commonality in all these relationship choices is being led by God’s Spirit.
When we walk in the Spirit we do not have to define how we will act in any given circumstance before it happens. As life happens we just ask God what to do and accept what He says. It is written,
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
Matthew 6:25
And,
“But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.”
Mark 11:13
The take not thought admonishment applies to most things in God because we are to live by revelation and not by our own reason. We do not need boundaries because we trus in the one who sets boundaries.
Thank you for your comment and God bless,
Michael
I agree, the closer one gets to God, through the Holy Spirit, the freer they become. It is a strange thing to come to realize that the rules that we apply to our lives do not necessarily mean that God has to follow them. Letting go and letting God live our lives is the freest thing, but getting to that point means tearing down the life we believe we live.
Dear Curtis,
Amen bro! Well said. I think you are speaking some revelation there!
God bless,
Michael
Dear Connections,
This photoshop make over is essentially a representation of what God does during the resurrection/rapture. When we recieve our glorified bodies we become the perfect version of ourselves, the way we would have been in a world without sin. Therefore, we still look like we do, just restored to our perfect selves.
That is a really great thing to look forward too.
Big hugs!
Michael