Get Real: Insights for
Becoming Authentic Christian Women
What
does it mean to be "authentic?" When purchasing a gemstone, it means
“genuine" or "real." It is the same with people. Often,
Christian women think that they have to put on a "Super Christian"
show every Sunday, looking especially pious in their dresses and makeup with
their hair just so.
We must be authentic, or true to others, and ourselves as we serve Christ. We need to be real so that the world will not see the outside, but the heart of Christ that lives in us and through us. It has always been faith that saves through grace, not good works or pious looks. We need to stop being the "whited sepulchers" (Matthew23:27) that Jesus said the Pharisees were and begin being the "earthen vessels" He intended us to be. (2Corinthians 4:7)
I realize that Christian women who put on the appearance of being very pious have good intentions. They want to be an example of godliness and purity. We have learned through tradition how to "act" like Christians. We need to learn through Christ how to "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) What did Mary, the mother of Jesus, say when she visited Elisabeth? She made it clear that her soul "magnified “her Lord and that her spirit "rejoiced" in God, her Savior.
Was
she "acting" like a Christian, or was she being authentic? The
authentic Christian woman needs to be humble, not look humble. If
Mary were with Jesus when He defended and forgave the adulteress in John 8,
would she have gawked at the disgusting sight and tried to get the woman to put
on some "decent" clothes, or would she have bent down and brushed away
the woman's tears as she embraced her? I think the latter. Mary, in my opinion,
was an authentic Christian woman.
If we are to be as
the women of old, true followers of Christ, we must look at ourselves honestly
in the bright light of the Word of God. We must strive to do the will of God
without allowing ourselves to think and behave as if we’ve arrived. We must
let others see our struggle and the faith that pulls us through. We must let
others see our flaws and the grace of God that forgives and heals. We must live
our lives as a light on a hill, not as a dim flame under a decorative bushel.
My hope is to share
with Christian women what I've discovered and am discovering in the journey
toward heaven. I want my sisters in Christ to know that they can be real; they
don't have to fear the consequences of not "keeping up appearances:"
and, they can live a life of honesty with themselves, God, and others so that
Christ will be revealed in their lives and so that they will grow toward the
perfection that will occur when we meet Jesus.
Teresa Beck