COWBOYS FOR A DAY

Wouldn't it be great if you could become something or someone just by putting on a new hat, shirt or shoes? Our Korean friends continued their time of discovery by going to a number of small towns here in Grant County and they had the opportunity to "become" cowboys for a day. Of course putting on a hat does not a cowboy one make, but it is good to pretend and a heck of a lot easier!

Jesus seems to have had a real hard time with pretenders, calling them all kinds of mean things like snakes, hypocrites, white washed tombs and children of hell! When I read about how He dealt with those religious people I find myself gaining a great deal of satisfaction in knowing I'm not like one of them and then find myself suddenly rebuked within by the Spirit of Jesus as He reminds me that the satisfaction I have is the same root stock of hypocrisy growing within me.

It is much easier to be a pretender at first, but it becomes so much more complex to keep up the charade of being a SUPER-CHRISTIAN the longer you maintain the act! Fruit has an amazing way of making itself known, and what you really are will be exposed by what your life produces. My problem is that I am a pretty good actor! As a pastor, it is an art form you learn to develop quite early on in this image based culture we live in. The expectations of people, colleagues and self can help turn a man of the cloth into an Academy Award winner pretty fast!

If only I could don that cowboy hat and transform into the perfect cowboy for Jesus! Unfortunately, Jesus Himself will have none of that! Did I say unfortunately? Well, truly we are so very fortunate that He will not settle for anything less than His image manifested in our lives for a blind world to see. I am convinced that the time is at hand for this American image based Christianity to fall as the Christ Imaged people of God rise in its bankrupt place!

I know "authenticity" is a cool word right now and many are trying their best to be "real," but beneath the trendiness of it all is a deep heart cry for real life-transforming faith and power to display itself in the down and dirty living of life. It's fun to be a cowboy for a day and play a part in a play, but when it comes to being a follower of Jesus, the time for pretending is over! Live before the face of God, led by His Spirit within, and just admit it to Him and others when you don't! This is "authentic" and "real" and that is what the Grace-Life truly is!