Whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that their works may be
clearly seen as done in God.
John 3:21
If you had to describe your authentic self how would you do that? What would that look like? Would it involve what you do, how you believe, what likes and dislikes you have? Would it be about your heritage, your family, the culture within which you live? Most of us would could write a long list to answer this question of authenticity. It can be a very complicated matter - after all we're complicated people. But, it doesn't have to be. What if we narrowed it down to one phrase - child of God.
To even begin to describe who we authentically are, we need to reach the core. First and foremost, we are children of God. We have been created by a benevolent, merciful, loving God in God's own image. Authentically, then, as God is holy, so are we. We were not created perfect, but we were created holy. This is the truth that God wants us to hold onto as we live our lives. This is the truth that will lead us to live in such a way that will glorify and honor our Creator and all of creation.
God knows we are not perfect. God knows that there will be times when we do not live into the light of our holiness and end up in the darkness of our errors. God's desire for us is not to stay in that darkness, but rather to seek forgiveness and to move back into the light of our authentic selves as loved children of God. This is what will bring transformation to the world - for when we accept our true, authentically holy, selves, we are empowered to treat others as holy.
Prayer: Holy One, we have heard the words and been told the stories of your love for us. Help us to feel this love deep in our souls, so that we may claim the truth of who we are and who we were created to be. And once we've claimed this for ourselves, God, help us to live in a way that is authentic so that we may be examples of your love in the world.
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