Be Real!

Stumbling into the grove called Gethsemane, Jesus gives us the quintessential picture of authenticity. Mark describes the moment this way:

“And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch’” (Mark 14:32–34).

It is hard to imagine a more transparent moment.

Which is why we should pay careful attention to the One who was so utterly authentic. Jesus was willing to reveal His spiritual priorities. He was willing to express His need for meaningful friends. He was willing to feel deep emotions like distress—and to articulate those feelings to His closest companions. At this critical juncture in His earthly life, Jesus was completely open. He hid nothing.

Are you real?

Webster defines authenticity as “conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief.” Is that you?

If not, let me challenge you to take ownership of a strategy for living an authentic life:

1. Scrutinize the life of Jesus.
He is the most vivid picture of the person you want to become. Jesus did not have a hypocritical bone in His body. Study His life as revealed in Scripture. Watch how He entered into the lives of others. Notice how He was simply Himself. Let Jesus be your model.

2. Remember that God made you to be you.
Psalm 139 declares that God made you “wonderfully.” You don’t need to be anyone else. Be yourself. Be real.

3. Choose to live authentically.
Here’s the hard part. Studying the life of Christ and recognizing your worth before God are relatively easy—they inspire us. But choosing, day by day, to live a certain way requires resolve. We resist willing ourselves toward obedience and righteous living. Yet anything less than this is not true.

And in our day, too much is at stake to settle for less.