I came across this expression recently which says, “We are born to be real, not perfect.”

How warm, accepting, and relieving are these words. They are bound to resonate with anyone feeling pressure to be more than they think they are. However, there are key components in this statement that should be looked at closer…What is being real? What is being perfect? Being real does not mean simply accepting or acknowledging things as they appear, it involves looking into things until you find what is true. The only way to be sure what is real and what is false is by seeking knowledge from the Creator; the one who has made all that is real. If you can surrender to that Truth, then there is a path for you to learn what is real and to incorporate it into your being, so you can be real as well. Acceptance is only the first step toward becoming real. After acceptance, we must then be prepared to leave the false to enter that which is true. This is also known as sanctification. The cleansing by the Creator from that which has been inbred from the cultures of this world, to what He made us to be from creation. Holy scripture encourages us to be in this world but not of this world. This path will actually bring you to perfection, because everything that the Creator has made is good and perfect in its unadulterated form. The Creator has promised that if you seek, you will find.

When we surrender our own ideas about life, in order to give way to the knowledge that comes from GOD, we find harmony that yields eternal peace in our soul. The world’s counsel always puts relieving pain as the priority above the cause of pain. The culture of this world always focuses on the temporary instead of the eternal. We can try to appease the yearnings of our truest self, beckoning to be realized…we can try to smother the fire of our potential burning within us by removing the oxygen of hope…we can try to reason away the conviction that comes from living beneath ourselves…we can try to hide from reality by either sensory deprivation or sensory overload…all of these acts will take more effort and be less fulfilling than just surrendering to the Creator and asking Him to save your soul with real Life. If you cry out to Him in sincerity, He will answer in an undeniable way. The Word of GOD says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I hear a lot of people saying today that they don’t need any drama in their life. Have you ever really considered what that means? Consider the meaning of the word “drama”: a composition in verse intended to portray LIFE, a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue, typically for a theatrical performance. I took out some of the repetitive and extraneous verbiage to give you the meat of the meaning. Theatrical drama is a form of art portraying LIFE. It is funny many people say they don’t want drama in their life, however they spend a lot of their life watching theatrical drama. That’s just an observation, and not at all related to my point that being free from drama can make for dull living.

Conflicts and emotions are a part of any healthy relationship. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” In any relationship, where people are being genuine, honest, and transparent about their thoughts and feelings, conflicts will arise. When we commit to relationships, and work through conflicts, and shoulder one another’s burdens, it strengthens our patience, empathy, temperance, kindness, and faith. As our love becomes stronger, we learn to persevere. This enables us to reap the harvest of real and fulfilling relationships. Relationships that have matured and are characterized by liberty, unity, peace, and abounding hope. The drama of real relationships challenges you to stretch and expand in ways that are uncomfortable, yet you are better for it because you experience growth. Proverbs 27:16 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

You can choose to associate with people who let you stay comfortable and surface. People that don’t push you to be your best. People that let your flaws turn into weakness and failure. People you don’t really know, and that don’t really know you, because you all have stayed away from those weighty conversations that expose weaknesses. Relationships without true intimacy because real knowing has been hindered by secrecy. The Word of GOD says he that seeks his life will lose it, and he that loses his life will find it. The just shall live by faith. Trusting GOD means living beyond yourself. Let the drama unfold, and enjoy the liberty of knowing and being known. Real intimacy occurs in the light, not in darkness. Real intimacy only occurs in spirit and truth.

I was thinking the other day on how much individual success has made us independent. When you look back at our grandparent’s generation, during the 1940s through the 1960s, they relied heavily on one another through necessity. Now in the 21st century, most of that generations grandchildren who have benefited from their united struggle are highly independent. This new independence has resulted in much of the momentum for collective social justice being lost. It’s like if GOD doesn’t allow the wolf to be at our door, we forget who the Shepherd is and that we are all called to be one flock. Many of us in pursuit of our on patch of grass have forgotten about the benefits of living in the flock. I know there is drama in the flock, but drama stretches us and causes us to grow in love. It causes us to draw nearer to the Good Shepherd. Even a lion has a better chance at survival in a pride. I watched a wildlife special about a pride led by three brother lions, and together they were pretty much invincible.

Just for clarity, I am not talking about cleaving to physical family, because everyone like us is not of us, and every one of us is not like us. I’m speaking about those of us who have agreed that following the Good Shepherd is where life is…period; that’s your flock. You can try to sustain relationships with people not dedicated to the Shepherd, but it won’t be intimate. I’m not talking just getting along. That’s what most people today call friendship. Anyone can get along, if you are a professional, you do it 40 or more hours a week with co-workers. Everyone stays in their lane, out of each other’s way, and we get along with them fine. That’s not friendship or family.

If you feel like no one is really close to you because no one understands you, it’s most likely because you are not making any sense. There is nothing new under sun, and there is no temptation that is unique to any one of us. There are occasions when the Lord is doing something new in the earth through someone, and no one in their flock gets it. Like when Noah was building the Ark, when the prophet Samuel was saying Israel didn’t need a king, when Paul was trying to convince the Jews to accept the New Covenant. Now if GOD is doing something in your life of that magnitude, I get it, but if not…admit it…you “trippin”. The bible says faithful are the wounds of a friend. Friends and family step on one another’s toes and collide a lot from close proximity, but underneath they know they are just trying to keep each other on path with the Shepherd. The check, “the Shepherd is clearly going this way, where you think you’re going.” We are never full-grown until we can’t grow anymore. So, let’s continue to grow up and stop acting so grown. I’m talking about maintaining some humility, so we can be corrected and continue to grow in unity. If we all concentrated more on following the Shepherd; stopping when He stops, moving when He moves, turning when He turns, we wouldn’t collide so often.

Let’s be in this world but not of this world and recognize, true freedom comes from working together in dependence, not everyone pursuing their own independence.

2017 has been a year full of events that have caused people to reconsider actually how far America has progressed toward a more civil society. You don’t have to journey far pass the fog of sports and entertainment to see the challenges we face as a society with violence, inequality, and social misconduct. My prayer for this nation is that its citizens would learn to practice more EMPATHY.

One of Webster’s definitions of empathy does a good job describing what it looks like in operation. Empathy is defined as, “the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it.” What this looks like socially is projecting yourself into someone else’s situation through consideration, until you feel to some degree what they may be feeling, and from that place you’ll find you can relate better to them toward unification.

The “imaginative projection of a subjective state” sounds deep but it is just entering into someone’s words as they speak; really listening to what someone else has to say about their experience. Empathy will only come when we are humble and unselfish enough to hear a voice other than our own. Wishing everyone love, compassion, and more empathy this holiday season and throughout 2018!