It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Today’s word prompt is REAL. Join others at Kate’s place to read their takes on REAL!
Did you ever have that thought? What if we ALL were Real all the time?
You are thinking what I was thinking…some things are better left unsaid. That is true in some circumstances. But what if our hearts were pure? Would everything that came out of our mouth be pure also?
Being REAL goes beyond what comes out of our mouth.
Imagine the ways we could be used of God if we decided to just be who He made us to be, empowered by the Holy Spirit, walking in victory every single day!
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 ESV.
What if we were REAL like Jesus?
Jesus wasn’t a phony; He was not a counterfeit or an imitation. He was the Real Deal. The Most High God came in human flesh to save mankind.
Living as an Authentic Christian means to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ. He left us His Spirit, dwelling IN us, the power to overcome as He overcame, to be in the world but not of the world and to live a life that influences others for the good.
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 NRSV.
These things come through living, through hard trials, through difficulties that we might not understand. But they are molding us, making us real, perfecting us in His image.
Look at this excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit:
“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
It doesn’t happen to those that break easily, have sharp edges (offend easily) or who have to be carefully kept. Hmmm….Being real means you have lived, you have survived and you have thrived because Christ is in you, the Hope of Glory has kept you!
You are strong but not necessarily independent. You realize where your strength comes from!
This is one time it is good to be an imitator. Imitating Jesus does not make us a phony; it makes us Real. We are Real Followers. We are Real Sheep that follow the Good Shepherd.
The world will tell us to be true to ourselves, to be all that we can be and just be happy. But God’s Word tells us to be Salt and Light in this world, to be witnesses of His name and imitators of the only true Light.
Once we are real, we can’t be ugly, except to those who don’t understand. Let’s pray that those who don’t understand now will be led to Christ by OUR example as we imitate Him.
Don’t forget your copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. Great for ANY FAST or prayer journey. On Amazon in paperback and Kindle and Barnes and Noble too! Be blessed!
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