"Can I show you the real me?"

I remember when I came to Christ, I was a wrecked man. Broken by the result of bad choices with nowhere to turn. No one could help me. I didn’t care what people thought of me or said about me. All I cared was, “how can I start over”? “How can I fix this mess I’ve made of my life”? I wanted another chance, any chance. God had me right where He wanted me. A lot has changed since that day…….. and a lot hasn’t. I’d like to talk about the part that hasn’t.

When I was willing to admit the real me, God was there to accept the real me. Don’t miss this point because this is the part that has not changed. God still requires the real me. We lose sight of that so easy. Being real or transparent is hard because we want people to think that we are good. Good people are, well….good, right? Good people don’t cause a lot of trouble. Good people don’t think bad thoughts, or do bad things. But……. are we good, really? The bible says that a young man ran up to Jesus and said, “Good teacher”, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”, “why do you call Me good?” Jesus answered, “No one is good except God alone.” Paul teaches in the book of Romans that there is “none good, no not one”. The bible plainly says that God alone is the only one that is good. God sets the bar for good, not us. In God’s eyes good is holy and pure and without sin. Holy and pure and without sin leaves me out.

It is humbling to admit that we are bad, but it’s even harder to admit when we see ourselves as good. Let me explain. I’ve been a Christian 31 years and you would think after that long I’d be good by now. Well, I have changed, but that change has been God’s work not mine. The more I hang out with Christ and godly people, the more my spirit becomes Christ like. But it is Christ working in me, it is not me but Christ. This is where it gets confusing. Over time we see a difference take place in our lives which is a good thing, but then it becomes harder and harder to admit we are still flawed or defective, especially if we have to admit it to other people. What will they think if I admit I’m having a problem? For crying out loud, I’ve been a Christian for 31 years, how long is it going to take to straighten me out?

So…… we are afraid to be honest and real. We are afraid if we tell someone about our problems they will no longer respect us. We will no longer be strong in their eyes, but weak. We will lose our godly influence we’ve worked so hard to get. Boy that’s a hard one to swallow for a Christian, especially a leader, a teacher, or preacher. If I lose my influence I’m out of a job.

Is that a fair assessment of what we all think? It appears to be close….. because we see very little confession today until it’s too late. Why should we admit we have problems to someone in the first place? Paul seemed to think confession was pretty important. He wrote under the influence of the Holy Spirit that we should confess our faults and our sins to one another. Why would he say that if it wasn’t important? Why can’t we admit our failures, could it be our pride?

It may hurt or sting a little, it could be humbling to admit we need help, but we must follow Paul’s instructions. We need to be real and bring our problems to the light. Exposing them for what they really are, snares that lead to more problems that could destroy our life. If you think that’s a little extreme just look around at the lives that have been destroyed because they were to proud to admit they had a problem. God’s mercy and grace can heal us and restore us to a place of service even greater than we had before if we’ll only admit our need to Him and to others. Admitting our failure to others is part of the healing process we can’t leave out.

God help us not to cause anyone to stumble as they share their needs and failures. Let us “always seek after that which is good for one another”. God give us a spirit of gentleness and love that invites healing for those that are struggling. “Can I show you the real me?”