"Our joy doesn't come from how well we hide our sin from each other... and our joy doesn't come from how secure we feel because of what we do correctly - and scared to death, looking over our shoulder all the time, because of all the things we do that we know are sinful. Our joy comes from the fact that we are people exposed, and sinful, and desperate, and yet simultaneously, as Martin Luther might tell us, saints, sons and daughters, because of our inheritance in Jesus.
It doesn't matter how you dress yourself up, how well you hide your sin from people. Better for you to be able to come out, and actually better, and i really mean better - like you will be more filled with joy - to be able to say, 'you know what? know me for who i really am. i'm completely exposed. Here's my sin; here's my Savior; i've got nothing to hide. I've got nothing to be ashamed of. I've got no fear. I'm totally filled with joy because i'm liberated... because i'm exposed and not scared. That's because i know that God's favor for me is based on Jesus.
The Church community should function so that we are liberated, and not afraid of each other... so we can speak honestly to each other and say 'I'm not scared to tell you who i really am. i'm not scared to tell you what my sins really are, not just the ones i'm comfortable with, but my real sins. i'm not afraid to tell you, and that's because i'm not condemned by them anymore, and that's because i believe Jesus is sufficient."
- derek webb
real freedom is in authenticity
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3 comments:
personal liberation aside, an atmosphere of fear is also certainly not conducive to that which we have been called/commanded to do...
on another note, "not just the [sins] we're comfortable with" ...?
that's a scary thought in and of itself
for clarification's sake, all of that last blog was quoted from derek webb.
regarding 'comfortable' sins, i think that was in the context of confession and accountability in community. we are more comfortable saying "oh yeah, i struggle with gossip or lying too," when we probably should be saying "i have issues with pride" or "i struggle with lust" or "i don't care about poverty."
yeah, i know for myself that it is a lot easier to say "i was mean to this person last week" then "i am full of pride and think of myself constantly".
i have been really struggling to become authentic...there are so many masks to put on....some that almost seem an expectation in church or around the company of christian friends. i have the most real thing there is inside of me and yet i hide it under a cloak of acceptable behaviour. am i hiding it so as not to offend like moses? am i hiding it because i am scared of who i am? am i worried that people will reject me? or am i just scared that the truth will bring me deeper than i have ever been and drag me out of my content and stale state? maybe it's all of those. good blog.
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