Gracious Authenticity

About a week ago, I was looking for a Starbucks to study in. I was going to deliver a message the following Sunday and I needed to find a place where I could be fully caffeinated as well as get away for a few hours. I found the perfect location. It was only five minutes away and it was constructed in a mediterranean style with a cobble stone walk way. It was perfect! It was the closest thing I could get to a retreat while still being close to home. I ordered my coffee, a grande drip no room, and sat down to begin the caffeination process. As I picked up my coffee and downed my first gulp of coffee, I glanced out of the window at a Walmart that was across the street from the coffee shop. It one instance the entire illusion of a retreat, of sipping coffee in a pseudo mediterranean village had been shattered. One glance was all it took.

I fear that sometimes the church is a lot like my experience at that Starbucks. People approach the church building with a lot of expectations. The hope of entering a place that is about forgiveness and acceptance. A place where they can be known without fear of judgment. The problem is that many times that illusion is shattered with just one visit, just a glance. They enter the building and are often times met with unwelcoming stares or worse, no acknowledgment at all that they were even there. At other times it is more subtle. They join a small group and open themselves up to hypocritical criticism. Instead of being authentic and gracious, members of the group have chosen to wear "holier than thou" masks and hide behind Bible verses and religion instead of sharing their fears, struggles and failures.

The other problem that we encounter in church is that we swing to the opposite side of the spectrum. Instead of pretending to be something that we are not, we use the word "authenticity" as an excuse not to grow or to embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to the message of the gospel. Instead of wearing the mask of religion, we wear the mask of disobedience and use the idea of acceptance to to hide our refusal to grow in Christ.

If you look up "Authenticity" in Websters one of the definitions that is given is "being actually and exactly what is claimed. It implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact." This is a great definition of what it means to be an authentic Christ follower or to be "Graciously Authentic". According to this definition we need to be careful what we are claiming to be. We can't claim to be overly "religious" and we can't claim to be a people that accept Christ and then end up being a "waste of grace".

I love Paul's stance on this in 1 Corinthians 15:9-11. He says this:

“For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

After reading this passage a few things impacted me greatly.

1. Paul Received God's Grace - "least of the apostles" Paul's realization that he was guilty of destroying the church while the 12 had been busy at building it up. It wasn't that his authority was any less than theirs, he spends time in other passages defending that fact. He was simply honest about who he had been and made no bones about the fact that he was a work in progress (Philippians 3:12).

2. Paul Reflected God's Grace - "But by the grace of God I am what I am" Not only was Paul acutely aware that God had been merciful to him, he was also aware that he had begun a good work inside of him. He was in the middle of transforming him from the inside out. Paul reflected the grace (unmerited favor) that God had shown to him and his life was evidence of this.

3. Paul Released God's Grace -

"and His grace toward me did not prove vain;" The word "vain" there can literally be translated to "empty". Paul is saying that grace that is poured out onto you should be then poured out onto others through you. Don't be a "waste of grace" by withholding grace from others. He also says that as a result he "labored" more than the other apostles. The word "labored" holds significant weight. It's meaning is that he worked to the point of exhaustion. It was no incidental thing. Paul worked tirelessly to show grace to those who didn't know Christ without being a hypocrite.

The application in your life should be obvious. Think about yourself in view of God's grace. Have a healthy view of yourself in view of the cross. A sinner saved by grace. But don't spend all of your time dwelling on it because the person that you were is no longer the person that you are. God has transformed you.

Now comes the hard part. Show that same grace to others. Work tirelessly at it. Don't wear the mask of hypocrisy and pretend to be better than you are and don't give up and embrace a life of disobedience pretending to be open minded.

To be an authentic believer in Jesus Christ, you must receive, reflect and release God's grace to others.