Authenticity

I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't love expensive things. It's like I'm drawn to them... I think I get it from my mother. As I walk through stores my eyes will catch the most beautiful things that trigger my "have to have" sensors, but every time I glance at the price tag--I die. I wouldn't say I'm cheap, but I am reasonable, which prevents me from spending money on a lot of unnecessary things. (a good thing). I call it an "expensive taste," while my husband calls it "ridiculous."

Why am I telling you all of this?

Due to my cheap reasonable shopping habits, I can sniff out a sale within a 5 mile radius--I have honed my shopping skills over the years and have developed efficient tactics as I sort and sift through racks of clothing and other goodies. These years of practice, paired with my love for ridiculously priced items, have lead me down an interesting road... foax avenue. fake street. false boulevard. forged circle. feigned road. Things that look real and expensive, but aren't.

My sophomore year of college a few of my best friends and I took a trip out East to visit one of our favorite ladies who was playing basketball in Connecticut. On our trip we ventured into the heart of NYC, and we hit the pavement running as a whole new world was opened before our eyes--one of the world's largest counterfeit shopping districts. You can only imagine how ridiculous this whole scene was. A couple of Midwest sweethearts buying "designer" goods for a fraction of the real cost out of suitcases--IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. As we boarded the plane to head home, wearing our 
"I <3 NY" shirts, Coach purses, fashion glasses, and doused with fake couture fragrances, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves and our purchases. that is. until our things started falling apart. The bags we bought for $20 out of trash bags weren't exactly "authentic." You certainly couldn't tell at first but eventually it started to show. It didn't take too long before the leather on our new bags started to crack, the zippers broke, and the handles fell off...

Our faith and our relationship with the Lord can be a lot like these bags--artificial.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in routine and going through the motions that our faith looses purpose. Sometimes we piggy-back off of other people's faith and it never really becomes our own. And sometimes we put up a front to disguise the hurt and anguish and true lack of faith that is going on inside of us. Eventually, like the faux bags, we are going to start falling apart.

We have been conditioned in today's society to talk the right way, walk the right way, and look the right way--portraying the "perfect Christian lifestyle." We know all the right things to say and the right prayers to pray at the right time, but sometimes we do it without heart and without faith. 

We aren't authentic.

A real designer Coach bag has multiple seals distinguishing its authenticity; not only hand bags, but baseball cards, diamonds, and dollar bills, too! They all have certain signs to prove they are the real deal.

In the New Testament, Jesus practically begs the people to get away from this forgery of faith. The Pharisees and the Sadducees had plenty of "seals" to show that they were holy, worthy, and important, but Christ continued to call them away from this form of thinking. Jesus shared parable after parable and taught lesson after lesson on the significance of genuine faith, but hardly anyone understood him. 

He calls us to trust in Him through faith and respond to His love.  

Our authenticity doesn't come from the number of bible studies we attend or teach, how many verses we can recite, or how many WWJD bracelets we have on our wrist; instead, it comes from our heart. God has put a seal of love on every one of our hearts, but our response to this love is really what activates our authentic faith.

"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave..."

Song of Solomon 8:6

"And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

Ephesians 1:13-14

Are we accepting the gift of God's son, Jesus, and the salvation He offers us? 

Are we responding to the call that has been placed on our lives and putting faith in Christ to guide and direct our daily lives? Are we earnestly seeking relationship with Jesus by reading the Word and communicating with him through prayer?

 Rather than getting so caught up with trying to be perfect "christians" and trying portray our "perfect faith," we need to focus on our hearts. Our thirsty and hungry hearts that long to understand the love our heavenly father has to pour into us. Once we can begin to grasp this authentic love that Christ has for us, we can then pour this love into other people and other ministries and start actively living out our authentic faith.

After years of buying faux bags and having them fall apart one right after another, I finally decided it was time I invested in the real deal. I saved my money, and I bought my first real Coach purse. It had the official seal. It was sturdy. It was reliable. It was beautiful. It was authentic. It was worth it.

The same can be true with our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. Only you know if your faith has been authentic or not. Is it time to stop pretending and portraying that you have everything together? Is it time to dig deep and start saving your time and energy and investing it in the Lord? 

The seal is already placed upon your heart. How will you respond?

Is your faith authentic?

It's worth it.