You're Not Fake, You're Free
When newness in God is percieved phoniness by others.
So, you've finally made the decision. You know, the decision where you are tired of doing things your own way and going through the same drama over and over again, so you give it all to God. You lay your life down: you start walking different, talking different, thinking different, and just being different according to how Christ has instructed you to be, and it changes your whole life for the better. On your Christian walk and transition from the world to Christ, when the world no longer recognizes you, you may be accused of being fake, a pretender, a hypocrite. The thing is, the more you become like Christ, the less the world recognizes you. And this basically confirms that God has restored you to your true identity in Christ and put you in the rightful place where He initially intended for you to be. See, we are in this world, but we are not OF this world, and sometimes being in this world, we get lost in the world. This is, until we find our way back to our source of truth and light – Jesus Christ. People do not recognize what they are not familiar with, so it is understandable to not longer be recognized as someone who "belongs" or for people to not feel that you are being authentically you. Some people recognize the worldly you more than the Christ filled you because they are more familiar with the world than Christ.
People can’t fathom how just 3 months ago you were using harsh words, or getting drunk, or you were fornicating, or committing adultery, or lying and stealing, or a drug user or addicted to something else, and now look at you -- you’re evangelizing, spreading the gospel and speaking the truth of the Word of God over the very things you were just in bondage with. For many people, they can’t understand it -- it makes no sense at all. Do not let this send you back to your old life of bondage. I want to encourage you to continue on your pursuit of Christ-like holiness. Know that the devil will continue to challenge your true identity, but he is a liar. Use the sheild of faith to punch every fiery dart he sends to attack your understanding of who God truly says you are.
The reason that you are now able to stand against what once enslaved you is because the Holy Spirit has come and rescued you from the hands of the enemy. The Holy Spirit makes you bold to walk in a new goodness despite your previous participation in the sin. This is God's grace and mercy on your life in exchange for the guilt and shame that the enemy wants you to feel because of what you used to do and who you used to be. Galatians 2:20 (NIV) tells us that once you have been crucified with Christ, you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. The life you now live in the body, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave himself for you.
The fact of the matter is that once God calls you out of hell on Earth, and you answer and accept His call, Christ now lives in you. So, in all actuality, those people really aren’t seeing you anymore. They are seeing Christ. Although they can’t understand your transformation just yet, keep walking upright in the newness of Christ because I can guarantee you that God is using your testimony to plant seeds that will call those same bewildered people out of the world in which you used to exist. Pray for them continuously. Trust God, be encouraged, and continue to make the devil mad, and because of your obedience and trust in God through this journey -- someone else will be walking in freedom. That is the beauty of it all.
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