As we embark on this expedition together, we are seeking out the mystery of becoming authentic: the real, genuine article. No more facades, no more games, no more pretensions, just the me God made me to be.
In Genesis, when God made Adam and Eve in His image, they were as authentic as they could be. By the time Genesis 3 rolled around and sin entered their lives, they began to hide themselves and create a new self complete with their own set of fig leaves. We have created some elaborate fig leaves ourselves haven't we?
At the end of Chapter 3 God speaks to the Trinity and banishes Adam and Eve from the garden....punishment? protection? Both? I would say both because certainly we suffer consequences for our sin but the clincher is this protection thing....but think about it: God said that if they ate of the tree of life, they would live forever in their fallen state and He didn't want that for any of us! So He banished them from the garden to protect them from eating of the Tree of Life and living forever in their fallen state.
The rest of the Bible then, is God's pursuit of our hearts to help us (through Jesus' life example, death, and resurrection as well His deposited Holy Spirit) get back to our original state....authentic. That's why we never hear of the Tree of Life again until Revelation when we are perfected and authenticated in the presence of our Savior and we eat and live forever with Him in our original, authentic state! (awesome, huh?)
So, here we are standing on one side of a big canyon looking to the other side, which is where we want to be.....totally authenticated. And there's a choice to be made: will I jump off into this tunnel of chaos filled with good and bad to get to the other side, trusting that God's got me and is with me through it all or will I shrink back and stay right where I am?
Oh how I pray that you would choose to risk it all and allow your Savior to take you on a mystery....of Divinely revealing truth that was once previously hidden so that He can authenticate you.
And going on this journey is HUGE! For one, you will grow and become more and more genuine....closer and closer to your original design. You will become whole and holy. Holy does NOT mean "holier-than-thou"; those people turn most everyone's stomach! Holy means I am totally and completely God's, just as when I married Dale, I became totally and completely Dale's and therefore am careful where I go and who I talk to and what I do and say because I am Dale's and would not want to jeopardize our relationship in any way. That's holy.
Secondly, according to Colossians 1:26 this mystery (once previously hidden but now Divinely revealed) is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let's dissect our words: Christ in you (He lives in you by the power of the Holy Spirit who has been deposited into your life to help you become holy, authentic , your original design) the hope (not a wish but a confident expectancy) of glory (the essence of something). Now, let's put it together: CHRIST LIVING IN YOU IS THE CONFIDENT EXPECTANCY THAT THE ESSENCE OF WHO GOD IS WOULD SHOW FORTH FROM YOUR LIFE!!!! So your journey is so much more than just about your healing and wholeness as huge and awesome as that is! It is about your husband, your children, your extended family, and all of those in your sphere of influence!!!
So, are you ready to jump in with both and run hard after the heart of your Maker to re-create His glory in you? Will you do whatever it takes to press in to let Him authenticate you? Let's do it together for His Glory and our joy!
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