I made it for a couple's anniversary celebration recently. My family and I had a really wonderful time being blessed and hugely entertained by this hugely talented family. They had been friends since almost fifteen years ago. They are indeed very special; both the couple and their three children, one of whom is now married.
The evening opened with a note of what was to follow the rest of the programme, and indeed it was a programme well programmed! The couple were themselves the masters of ceremony, and they were beautifully authentic and just simply funny! Professional stand-up comedians stand aside. Their friends, church members and family gave resoundingly creative and excellent presentations of songs, poems, narratives and even a rap. Suddenly it seemed that almost everyone who came forward was 'anointed' with the impromptu and improvisational gift of being a stand-up comedian, even the pastor at attendance! And it was hilarious! And poignant!
The evening ended with the words 'authenticity' ringing in my ears. Later in the car, on our journey home, my better half strongly asserted that this type of anniversary celebration would be what she would want, instead of a 'churchy, religious' one.
I was left musing on this whole theme of authenticity. You see, my entire paradigm of thought and life has been reshaped by the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ recently. Well, just over three years ago. I used to be a believer of Jesus Christ who tried very hard to live the normal life. You know, the life where you stayed out of trouble, did not get into another person's face, and you let sleeping dogs lie. You did not rock the boat of consensual opinion and thought. You generally agreed with what everyone generally agreed with, especially with the prevailing zeitgeist or milieu, one shaped by the so-called religious leaders of the relevant community and society. You tried very hard to stay clear of obvious and outward sin, and you lived your life of service unto God chiefly through your service in church, to the church and especially to the pastor. You tried to obey whatever you could from the Scriptures, but you subconsciously kept God away from your pet likes and dislikes, and especially, you kept God way away from your music, your entertainment and your rest and recreation ideas. Not to mention, your clothing! Now that's where you drew the line, you see. What?! God to interfere in my dressing? My rest and recreation? My music? My entertainment ideas? No way! (Eventhough He IS The WAY!).
So anyway, the night was left hanging, or in my case, hitting the pillow, and going into slumber-land almost immediately. I woke up to the word 'authenticity' still in memory and consciousness. As I continued to muse upon this word, and you know, I love the world of semiotics! Authenticity to me is a value. A good one at that! Yet a value, a very natural and humanistic one too. Do we value authenticity and promote it, especially within a context of new creation in Christ? I guess authenticity is good. However, because we are born again of God, and from above, through the WORD of Christ and His Spirit, all a gracious gift of God, quite apart from anything inherent or intrinsically good in us, our entire epistemology and therefore, philosophy of life, after being born again, is reshaped by Scriptures alone. And the immediate ramification of such a colossal change in life, of life, by the power of the gospel of Christ, means that authenticity is now viewed in the light of Scriptures, or in other words, how God views authenticity.
So what are God's thoughts on authenticity? Interestingly, in Isaiah chapter fifty five, verse eight, God speaks through the prophet, and in effect says, 'Don't confuse your humanistic and natural epistemology with My divine and supernatural one'. The idea of the preceding and proceeding verses show a comparison God is making between the 'wicked' and the 'righteous'. Again and again, Scriptures helps us see the distinction between God's thoughts about how His kingdom people are different from the kingdom of the world. This difference is pretty stark, though most evangelical churches insist there is really no qualitative difference between believer and non-believer, that it is all 'a journey' we are on. God and through His Scriptures would beg to differ.
God communicates clearly and simply that He is absolutely sovereign, which means that He is absolutely in charge. Far from being a transcendent and distant God of some, in His Son, Jesus Christ, manifested through the power of His Spirit, God has come near to His creation, especially the crown of His creation, mankind. He is in charge, absolutely! And He created everything perfect, including the crown of His creation, and gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their obedience to their Maker. And in such a perfect environment, with perfect faculties of mind, heart and body, man blew it! Major! And immediately, man fell from his exalted 'imago dei' and became utterly depraved that barely a millenia into creation, God had to wipe it out, and reboot mankind and creation through the flood, and start again with Noah.
Back to authenticity. It is funny that the apostle Paul has nothing to say about authenticity in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. I did not think so. Since Paul is referring to the fruit of 'the Spirit', very obviously, he is referring to a value which is born of God, and born from above, and therefore, very divine, and very supernatural. The fruit of the Spirit finds its apex in love. And here again, mankind, with the help of the enemy, has resoundingly succeeded in confusing this term and its manifold meanings to mean some mushy washy emotion or feeling where you just feel that what you are thinking, saying and doing is right because it's about 'love', and failing to draw the distinction between a God-originating love from above, from His heart, and of a love which is from below, natural, and ultimately, at it's core, selfish!
So, it really depends on your genesis of belief. Your starting point. Your presupposition. That starting point inexorably will lead you to inescapable conclusions. Authenticity is good. It is natural. However, God is better. And great! And greatly to be praised. And so, between authenticity, and God's insistence that He is the Ultimate and Sole provider of all that is good, including the values by which we live our lives, I am so incredibly glad that He chose me to choose Him. That He 'graced' me to receive His grace. And to live in the power of His resurrected Son, through the same Spirit who raised Him from the grave. A life of faith and of overcoming obstacles and adversities. So that His life and His values (kingdom one's) are reflected in and through us, for His glory alone!
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