The creative Christian life demands one thing. Authenticity.
An authentic article is one that is not a copy, it’s the real thing. Not a cheap knock-off shaped to sell low. If an object is authentic it bears the marks of its maker, not the shavings of a machine.
I want to remind you today that your Maker created you the way that you are for a reason. He has purpose in His craftsmanship and when He molded the masterpiece that bears your name, He did so from a one-off, never-to-be-repeated plan in His infinite heart, not on the cookie-cutter floor room pumping out humans to pointlessly populate the planet.
Dawkins and Darwin might try to convince you otherwise, but Romans 1:19-23 perfectly sums up the Creator’s opinion of their accolades. Look it up and see if you agree.
Professors may profess all they like, but their professions leave them dangling in their own high-sounding foolishness.
You are not an accident.
Your value is more than the dusty sum of your carbon and gas.
Dear creative, awe-inspired, inspirational friend, wake up to who you are!
God Almighty knew you before he founded the world. He formed you fearfully in your mother’s womb. He brought you forth in this generation because you are equipped to bring your part of the puzzle to the table and place it firmly where it belongs.
Wholly embracing who you are is an expedition that lasts a lifetime. It takes courage to climb over the rocks of fear and opinion that scatter the path. Sometimes it requires crawling through dark tunnels, facing the heat of misunderstanding. It means losing your footing at times, scrambling to keep your grip when peer-pressure wants to pull the rope and keep you in the lowlands.
Authenticity means that you have to become good at using hard to swallow words like, “Sorry”, and “no”.
Embracing who you are also means you need to grow comfortable with being unapologetic when the situation demands it. Not saying sorry for things you cannot change. Not second-guessing and justifying your every move.
I often say that I’m in the business of being myself. All the other jobs were taken.
Being you is the best way you can turn up for others.
Here at the crown of the year let’s be aware that a new year looms, looking to be inhabited. Step into the new year ready to fill it.
Fill it with your genuine self. Fill it with a new and fresh commitment to take risks and put yourself out there.
Life is so short, and this past year has taught us all that only a few thing are certain, uncertainty and change.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Make today count. Don’t play small.
Above all, let Jesus live large in your every day.
Walk into 2021 knowing that grace has equipped you for victory!
