The Right Desire

While reading this week, I came across this prayer from Thomas Merton, an influential American monk. I connect with his transparency and the way he is able to communicate his raw emotions. I think this kind of authenticity is appealing because it helps to know that we all struggle through different phases of this life.

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

It's a Risk

Most of us fear rejection. We don't like to take a risk and then be summarily dismissed. It can be an intimidating prospect to be rejected for a job, a date, or an opportunity. It's much more painful if we feel that action is directed specifically at our identity.

John Powell wrote in his book, Why I Am Afraid To Tell You Who I Am?, "I am afraid to tell you who I am, because, if I tell you who I am, you may not like who I am, and it's all that I have." We avoid personal honesty & transparency because that puts us at tremendous risk of injury if it isn't received well. While we might feel that constructing a facade to hide our true selves behind will keep us safe, it will also ensure the lack of real relationship & community. We won't ever be able to enjoy depth in our most personal relationships and will become increasingly isolated.

I'm not suggesting that we need to rent a billboard to advertise our true selves or spew all of it out via social media. Instead we make an intentional effort with a select few people to share who we really are. It's a risky endeavor, but one that brings depth in its rewards.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Admit It

We talked about the word "confession" in our life group today as a follow up to this morning's message. We were all in agreement on the need for genuine confession, but also agreed with how difficult it is. It's a humbling action that opens you up to the potential for great healing and full restoration. It can also be incredibly frightening to be that honest when you are unsure of how people will react. It speaks to the need for compassionate people in our lives to help us through the process. It's the willingness of kind friends to cover up our embarrassment--never to cover up our sin--and help us through the healing process. In this way we model the best of Christianity through our extension of love, mercy, and unqualified grace towards others. It's the embodiment of one of my favorite quotes from Andy Stanley, author and pastor at North Point Community Church: "The church is most appealing when grace is most apparent."

The Real Deal

Our life group was talking about the growth of Northridge and how God is continuing to do big things. We talked about things that brought us all to the church and for each of us the reason was different. It included moving from out of state, being invited by a friend, growing up in the church, and settling there after doing some "church shopping." The one characteristic that people said helped to keep them there was that the leaders of our church were real. There was never any feeling of putting on a show or creating a facade of having it all together. People feel that the leaders of the church are able to admit their struggles and that this helped to create a sense of belonging as we all worked to move forward on this journey of faith.

That's what God wants His Church to be. It should be a safe place to be transparent about our weaknesses--not to boast about them, but to highlight our desperate need for God's strength and grace. When the Church is willing to be that genuine it will attract people who are tired of artificial substitutes for living faith.