Pretending…
I’m so tired of pretending… When I was young all I used to do was pretend. I would imagine fighting ninjas and dragons in my back yard. I pretended that I could move things with my mind, and sometimes I would even dream that I could. I was always so disappointed when I woke up and couldn’t make my alarm clock float. I want to say that when I got older I stopped pretending, but that’s not true… I started pretending in new ways…
Instead of pretending that I could tame a dragon, I began pretending like I had all of the answers and that I was in control. I began pretending to be a grownup. I began acting like I wasn’t afraid. But when it comes down to it, in all of it I was just doing what I did before. And like before, I was constantly disappointed in myself.
Christianity is supposed to set us free from these burdens of pretending… but somehow in our twisted nature we corrupt the things that are supposed to point us towards freedom.
There are several passages in the Bible that show that God is just as tired of us pretending as we are. One of the most prominant ones that comes to mind is in the beginning of the book of Isaiah. God’s people have become wicked and fallen into this game of make-believe-worship… They went through the motions pretending that everything was okay when it couldn’t be further from the truth.
God says to his people:
Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. (Isaiah 1:14-15 The Message)
We do this, don’t we? We get caught up in our meetings, and our events, and our concerts, and our programs, our routine… We feel uneasy and at unrest. We are scared and worried, and we act like everything is okay. We close our eyes and pretend that the world around us is peachy keen while really its falling apart faster than we can tell. We pretend and go to God with smiles pasted on our faces and bookmarks in our Bibles that haven’t moved in months.
I read an account in the New Testament that granted a lot of insight into our continued pretending that God so detests. In the book of Acts it tells a story about Paul and Barnabas in the city Lystra. The two go to Lystra to flee persecution, and there come across a man who was born crippled and as Scripture says,”had never walked.” Paul sees that the man has the faith to be healed and walk for the first time ever. He looks intently at the man and says loudly, “Stand upright on your feet.” And in that moment he is healed and Scripture says he not only rose, but sprang up and began walking…
This miracle was a sign not only for the man but for the people of Lystra as well. However Scripture says that they immediately believed that Barnabas and Paul were the greek gods Zeus and Hermes, and then begin bringing oxen and garlands to the gates to sacrifice to the two men. And when Paul and Barnabas see the people completely missing the point, it breaks their hearts. The passage reads:
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them.”
The apostles in anguish tear their robes and cry out the people…
When I read this I couldn’t help but think about how much we are creatures of habit. The people had spent their whole lives giving sacrifices to these false gods. When Paul and Barnabas come with a message of the true God who sacrificed his Son for them, they missed it and continued to sacrifice. They heard but they didn’t understand. They saw but they didn’t really perceive.
I think many of us can identify with this story, as the people of Lystra. We grow up our as kids pretending and then we get older and are told to fake it till we make it. We put on performances for our friends, for our families, for everyone, trying to be whatever it is that we think they want us to be. And then we wake up one day not sure of who we really are at all. THEN by the grace of God we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We hear the message that proclaims freedom from all bondage. By the Gospel we are to be free from pretending all together. But like the people Lystra we fall back into our old ways. We begin pretending all over again. Now we pretend for our church, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for God… And as the passage in Isaiah reveals, God doesn’t like our pretending.
However, there is hope… there is always hope.
The passage in Isaiah goes on with God’s call to his people to turn from their wicked ways and seek to do good. God offers a word of great hope. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become white like wool.”
The NASB study bible note on this passage says that the phrase, “reason together,” means “to come to a legal decision.” There is no call for a compromise here; the people were to come to an agreement with God concerning the enormous gravity of their sin. God was not declaring His people innocent of wickedness, but He was prepared to pardon their sins if they would repent and turn to Him. God offers us that same forgiveness through Jesus. (The NKJV Study Bible. 2007 (Is 1:18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.)
God does not call them innocent… Rather he fully recognizes them as wicked, evil, and full of sin… and offers forgiveness.
God knows we are sinful. He knew we were sinful. And He knows we are going to continue to sin.
This last year of my life has been a tremendous learning experience for me. I have learned more about myself, about God, about family, about the true meaning of friendship, about work, and about growing up than I ever would have thought possible. And in all of this, I have learned a great lesson that seems simple, but is much harder to accept than most of us realize…
The beginning of the Gospel is our sin. The more we realize our own depravity, our own brokenness, our own inability to keep everything pretty, the more glorious and powerful the cross of Christ is in our lives. Somewhere along the line Satan tricked many of us into believing that we must be perfect because we have received the grace of God. One day this will be true, but only by the power of God upon the return of His Son.
The transformational power of the Christ comes in our ability to go to God as we are.
A lot has happened in this last year that has caused me to really be angry with God and in that I have faced great frustration because I tried to hide it. I pretended that everything was okay, and it wasn’t until I was completely honest with God that I felt freedom from that anger. God knew I was angry and every time I came to him pretending that I wasn’t, I was lying to Him…
There’s a video by the skit guys that really helps me with this. In the video God is about to begin chiseling one of His children into a masterpiece and the guy laments, “God I’ve let you down so many times…” God responds, “No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious righteous right hand, and don’t you forget it.”
With all of that said, I simply want to plead with you my brothers and sisters to stop pretending. God showed his love to us in that WHILE we were still sinners Christ died for us. God knows the depths of our sin which goes much deeper than we actually think, and loves us in spite of it.
Go to God, as you are and share with him what is on your heart. Are you sad? God will not fear your weakness, He made himself weak that He might sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb 4:15). Are you angry? God does not fear your wrath, rather He voluntarily took it upon the cross. Are you scared? Jesus tamed storms, commanded demons, and conquered death. He did so that you might believe.
The passage in Isaiah continues…
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
God’s word promises that if we are willing and obedient to God he will give us a feast. If we rebel we will fall at our own hands…
My prayer is that you will no longer pretend, but find rest in the fact that God sees our sin and our guilt and offers us forgiveness in spite of it. God is good and His love knows no bounds. May you be yourself before the living God and get lost in that love.
Amen.
rustygates