Real

It's most likely not known (anymore), but I've had a blog of some form since 2010. I've been writing poetry and spoken words since 2015. And when it comes to writings about Christianity, those have been been a constant possibly predating my first blog.

If you've been around through multiple of my blogs or just read/listened to my modern offerings, you'll notice that the word "real," meaning genuine and authentic, as often popped up in my work. If you happen to be a lucky soul that gets to be in form of a chat with me or saw my (pre-purge) Twitter account, you'd find the idea presented even more.

So, when I came across a writing from 2017 simply titled "Real," I wasn't shocked in the least.

The following is that writing, never before seen outside the original audience of my church adult Sunday school class. I was asked to speak that Sunday (well, either asked or voluntold, which one is lost to time) and this is what I came up with. Reading it now, it seems a little bold and audacious to present to a bunch of seasoned Christians, but I did, and it is probably the first expression of my perennial writings and thoughts on living out a real, genuine, authentic, faith.

Note: I have slightly edited this word-for-word script, but solely for purposes of formatting and clarity.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matthew 7:15-20, NKJV)

Merriam-Webster defines the word "real" as "not artificial, fraudulent, or illusory" and "occurring or existing in actuality." For this word to exist in our vocabulary, there must be a counterpart, fake, which is defined as "not true, real, or genuine" and "to conceal the defects of or make appear more attractive, interesting, valuable, etc. usually with the intent to deceive."

Every day we encounter things that are real and fake. Pretend that have two roses, one cut from the rose bush at home and an artificial one I bought. From a distance, you may not be able to tell a difference between them. They look identical. But if you were to step closer to them, you would begin to see a difference. One would be comprised of carbohydrates and proteins, the other of plastic and wire supports. Instead of chlorophyll and pigments giving color, it'd be painted. The closer you stepped, the more you would see the inaccuracies in the fake flower. Finally, the rose from the bush would have a sweet aroma, while the plastic one may not have any sent, or even worse, may stink. Many musicians write songs about genuine love. In order to genuinely sing about a real love means that somewhere in the past was a "fake love", which wasn't even love at all but rather an ideal, something to be treated as a tool to get somewhere, or even lust. For there to be real, there must be fake.

There's been a topic and thought in my mind for a while now, something that has been building and longing to get out. That thing is being real. That made lead you to ask me "What is real? What do you mean by 'being real'?" This is what I mean by "being real": a Christian, saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit, living their lives in such a way that they reflect God's love and establish the kingdom of God wherever they go.

There are many so-called Christians who go around acting as if they love the Lord but don't live it. There's a word for that: hypocrisy. Jesus, during the sermon on the mount, in Matthew 7:17-20, spoke about living a real life.

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (NKJV)

Put simply: if you have Jesus in your heart, if you follow Him in sincerity and honestly, if He is your focus, your life will reflect it. You won't be able to fake it! You can't hide it! It'll be evident in all that you do! Because the Holy Spirit lives inside you, you will exhibit good fruit, the fruit of the Sprint: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We should have such a zeal for Him that it consumes all that we do and say. In prayer we cover all we do, and with fasting we make our petitions known.

Yes, I am young, and there's much more that I have not seen and do not know, but of what I have seen up to know, I've been able to come to this conclusion: the church, as a general body, has lost what it means to be real. Instead, we play the church game, going through the motions and saying the right things. We go to camp meeting, put on a face, act as if we are spiritual and doing our best to follow God's will, yet as the minister is preaching, we're sitting there on our phone sending lustful messages to someone while our equally as fake boyfriend or girlfriend is sitting beside us while we're still saying "amen" when everyone else does. We serve in the local church, leading worship or helping in kid's ministry, yet deep-down, having nothing to do with this thing called "church." It's nothing more than an obligation, an expectancy, something we do just to fit in. A game.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of the games. I'm tired of the fake. As He ascended to Heaven, did Jesus command the apostles "OK, pretend to care like you love Me. Act as if you are following the Father's will for your life. Spread the gospel but only when it's convenient for you?" No! Instead, He gave us the Great Commission:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV)

That is what it means to be a "real Christian." Fulfilling this commandment, this task all Christians have been given, however it looks for you. Some of you may be good at walking up to a strange cold-turkey and leading them to Christ. Some of you may operate best in more personal, one-on-one interaction. Still others may accomplish it by simply living for God and your life being a walking testimony. Regardless of how it looks, someone who is truly for God and is not merely honoring Him with their lips will be working with fellow believers to accomplish this command.

Why do you think people's hearts are so hard and ears are deaf to the Gospel? One, because the Bible say that in the last days there will be a great falling away, but, secondly, I believe the church has failed to be a light in darkness. Instead of showing God's love, we've screamed "repentance or else" in their face like a madman. Instead of being a people set apart by God, we've become hypocrites. Instead of going out and spreading the Gospel even when it's unpopular, we've secluded ourselves, hidden in the church building, and created a barrier between the Christians and the world: us and them. We've lost our impact because we tried to separate "us" so much from "them" that we let the world go on without us. And we wonder why what worked then doesn't work now. We wonder why events of old, events when the Holy Spirit moved so mightily that revivals lasted weeks and hundreds of people were saved, sanctified and delivered, just don't happen anymore. We ask God why the miracles of yesteryear are seemingly not as prevalent. We are grieved by the rampant sin in our nation and plead with God to do something.

Christian song arist Matthew West penned a song entitled "Do Something." The song opens with these words:

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how'd we ever get so far down
How's it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, "God, why don't You do something?"
Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, "God, why don't You do something?"
He said, "I did, I created you."

It's time for the church, including and especially you and me, to do something. It's time start being real, again. It's time to stop pretending someone else will do the work. It's time to stop playing church and competing with other denominations about numbers and splendor. It's time to return to our knees in prayer, to intercede for those around us and everyone we encounter. It's time to return to the truth of the Word of God and preach it without compromise. Christianity is not about religion, it's about relationship. It's not about living a good life. It's about rescuing those who are doomed to eternal torment in the pit of hell, a place created not for humans but for Satan and his followers. It's not about us. It's about God.

Matt Redman wrote a song in 1998 entitled "The Heart of Worship." The chorus reads:

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus

That's my cry. That's my heart's desire, to be real for God. To be used by Him in mighty and powerful ways that surpass the greatness of the olden days. I want to be used by God to perform miracles, to advance His kingdom, to spread the Gospel to those who have not received as well as those who may have at once but who have been deceived and lied to and fallen away. I don't want to be just another name in a book, another character in a story. I want to be real. What about you? What is your desire? Who do you want to be? Are you ready to say "Here I am, Lord, send me!" and start being real?