At 4:00 a.m. (Yes, I was awake unfortunately at that hour) I grabbed my tablet and started looking throught my currents Christian blogs app. I came across a Women's Ministry page that said R.E.A.L. It stands for REACHING Encouraging And Loving life together. It caught my attention. The Spirit spoke to my heart about how real am I beyond the church pew?
Recently, I've made some new friends and acquaintances. Some of them are Christians. Sure, I love the fact that we have Jesus in common. It's what drew/draws them to me. However, what I"m really interested in is, are they REAL beyond the church pew? Are they the real deal. Can you truly see Jesus in them beyond those brick walls where we put on facades on Sunday mornings?
It's not always easy to be REAL and be ourselves because the world is always stereotyping, judging, and paints a totally different picture than what the Bible says we should be. The bible says that "We are the light of the world, a city on a hill can not be hidden." Matthew 5:14. If we are the light, then we need to be a true light for Christ beyond our church pews, and Sunday morning facades. We need to let others see Jesus in our actions.
Being real means letting other believers know you have the same every day struggles they do. I have my own struggles in this life. The biggest one is wanting everybody to like me. NEWS FLASH..I've learned that not everybody is going to like me and I'm just now learning to be somewhat o.k. by that! I've struggled my whole life with self-esteem issues, but guess what?!!! JESUS THINKS/THOUGHT I was to die for! HE took on an old rugged cross and the sin of the world and every sin I would commit.. That's the real Alicia Roark. Also, the real Alicia Roark sometimes can go overboard with letting her friends know how much she cares for them....Yep, I'm working on that too....I"m not perfect, but I'm a Christian girl who believes in being REAL with others.
The question I'd like to challenge you with is: Are you REAL beyond the church pew?!!!
In His Love,
Alicia
