HOW WE REALLY ARE .As I continue on my journey of being "realer" than I was, the road is not smooth . Remember when we read,"people do not want you to be how you really are, they want you to be how they want you to be ?"That is what makes the road so difficult . However, making the change is worth it . For one thing , the things that were important to accomplish , that required the help of your "friends" is no more a priority. If they won't help you do what you are trying to do now, it is okay. Changing from a pleasing God room into a trusting God room also seems to change your life goals .So what you use to need friends for, you don't .So what do we need friends for ?Before I needed friends for an assurance that I was pleasing God . How I was doing was indicated by their pleasure in how I served .Now God tells me that my appearance to Him is based upon my heart .How I serve, He's looking at my heart .When I give, my heart.Four things He cares about, my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength . That is what I am to love Him with . But do my friends care about my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength ? They might if I let them see it .Unfortunately my heart is not pure, my soul is not pure, my mind is not pure and my strength, no it is not purely dependent upon Jesus' strength either . The hardest thing is , to let you know me , and trust God that His grace will be suffiecient for me , even if yours is not .You see it is His strength that is perfected in my weakness , so it is my weaknesses that I must let show . I have been wanting to confront this problem of predijuce that I see in my being . However, to reveal such a truth about yourself is so very risky."Well, you should not be like that ! Let me pray for you quickly,Oh Lord, help her not be like that." "Thank-you. What about the stuff that has happened in my life that seems to be the building blocks for this predijudce to develop ? Do you think we should talk about it ?"You can not just stop being like that . God is working in me to help me stop being like that . Here is the really bad thing , though . When you come to me and I find you are predjuduce , I want you to stop it, right now. I want you to pretend that you are not predjuduce . So now I have come to the real problem . Not that I can not find friends who will accept me as myself, but how do I accept you, who are predjudce and do not care that you are . I am tolerating you, but I am not loving you. I am wanting to wait and love you when the dark secrets of your heart are exposed and you are at least , sorry. Surely I am talking to a mature group of the Body of Christ .You know there are all kinds of predjudce.
HOW DID HE DO IT ? Do you know this guy David , the one who was known as "a man after God's own heart ?" Now he did not live his entire life without using a mask . There were plenty of times the mask went up however, I think deep inside he knew , he did not have to wear it . Somehow the realness that the God he served would give him grace . There fore he trusted Him . Daily my life reflects whether or not I receive my Lord's grace . It shows up when someone is around . When people are around me , it is not that I have suddenly forgot that I have received God's grace . The people around me have made a choice to receive or not receive His grace . Their individual choice really should not affect me . Except if they do not like me because I have received the grace of God . This seems to be what bothered King Saul . David had God's favor, undeserved , certainly unearned . I am sure David wondered why God chose to make it apparent to King Saul of his grace receiving ability . Perhaps it was to display for Saul that there was a way to repentance , still in his unstable ways . Perhaps there was still hope for Saul and so God placed the one who could witness for Him as close to Saul as He dared so the truth could be seen . Being able to believe that God has chosen me , to give His grace to is hard . Especially if a few folks rather doubt that I could be that special . Maybe I will get into heaven alright , but isn't God just putting up with me ? After all look at all the mistakes I keep making . Perhaps the majority rules . Surely God likes the brothers out there in the field who work hard all the time and never stop to party , more than He likes me . Maybe I had better look like them so they will like me . Once again, a mask appears , I am not where I was with God , but I am sure He won't mind . Doesn't He want me to get along ? You know there was a time that I would have condemned myself for putting on the mask again . However, today I am thankful that I did not want to have the mask up and maybe by the grace of God I will do better next time . There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus and His love covers me .
