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“I experienced a significant breakthrough into the freedom of the children of God at my first AA meeting. In the past I would have set great store not only on looking good but on thinking too often about who is looking. My self-image as a man of God and a disciplined disciple had to be protected at all costs. My ravenous insecurities made my sense of self-worth rise and fall like a sailboat on the winds of another’s approval or disapproval. It was a supreme moment of liberation to stand up, kick the pedestal aside and simply state: “My name is Brennan; I am an alcoholic.” My spiritual director once told me, “Brennan, give up trying to look and sound like a saint. It will be a lot easier on everybody.” quote by Brennan manning – the ragamuffins gospel
Protecting ourselves makes us un-real towards others – and towards ourselves and our God.
We work so hard to maintain the facade that we forget to be honest, or we cant because it would let a wall down. We can spend so much energy and time and thought upon who we think we should be and how we should act.
In the meantime our spirit struggles, often with the guilt and the fear and the falseness. We have special faces for the outside world that don’t match up with reality – and it takes so much to keep the facade. We have to tell lies. We have to do things we’re not authentically into. We have to hold peoplea at a distance so they dont find out who the real “you” is… when what we really want is to be accepted and embraced as who we are, for who we are, and then live our lives iwth inner peace authentically.
Often we’ve put those facades and special faces up to mask teh hurts and inqdequaces we feel. W’re not good enough. We’re broken. We have bad hair days…
We use the mask to try and protect us… whereas in reality it is constricting and harming us, and others around us…
We need to cut to the chase and repent, get clean with God and then clean with others. Its a big first step.
You’ll be suprized. Been real is easier.
It opens doors for others to help and really know you. And it of course opens the door for God to minister to the hurts and the issues and the circumstances.
God made YOU you. He designed you to be you. There is no one else like you or that could do the good God created you for. God didnt make you jsut for work but he made you because HE likes you. You are created likeable to God. If God likes you it makes sense that others will like you too!
God calls an authentic you to be a reflection of HIM in our world, reaching out to broken people who need to know HIS hope and His Good News – not only salvation for eternity but salvation for this life too – relationship with God. He uses broken people with the treasure of Himself in them (th Holy Spirit lives within us) to reach out to other broken people. It is an outworking of redemption. When we put walls up and try to look like a saint we block the conduit for treasure to shine – be put a band aid on the cracks in our pots… We dont allow God to truely be refelected through our lives…
Feel like you’re working hard to maintain the right face? Let it go and LET GOD WORK. He sees right through you to the heart of the matter. Trust Him and then let Him work His beauty through you to those around you. The world will change through you….
this is a fantastic site with stories of real people meeting with a very real God and how he changed their lives. go to I AM SECOND.com
beautifully crafted and designed it satisfys on so many levels.
speaking on it are famous people like the korn guy, and stephen baldwin and jason castro (american idol contestant)
as well as plenty of “ordinary” people and our extraordinary God.
go check it out.
go get encouraged.
go get drawn to God more.
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