“There was a lot of grumbling about Him among the crowds. Some argued, ‘He’s a good man,’ but others said, ‘He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.’” (John 7:12 NLT)
Does it surprise you that there were those in Jesus’ day who thought He was a fraud? Do you ever feel like a fraud? There are times I do. Are there times you really have to work at being “good?” Yeh, I get it, me too. But I’m comforted to know that a fraud is an imposter, someone who deliberately poses to be someone or something they’re not. My heart longs to be more like Jesus but catch me in the wrong moment and you won’t see Jesus at all. Why is that?
Satan is a fraud, a deceiver, someone who claims to be the giver of great opportunities filled with fun and adventure, but ultimately lead to despair, heartache, and emptiness. He paints pictures of beauty, wealth, power, and prestige – and don’t get me wrong, he delivers on all of that. But sadly, that’s not the end of the story.
If we stand before Jesus at the end of our life and all we have to show for it are the trinkets of this world, we’re among all people most to be pitied. Wealth and possessions aren’t the doorway to heaven, only Jesus is. He’s the Treasure, not the things of this world. Life is hard and we need balance if we’re going to make more than a living.
It takes deliberate effort to build a life, and there are times it’s hard to look in the mirror and ask with a straight face: “For whom am I living – Jesus or me?” One of hardest places for me to be like Jesus is in my marriage. There are days I don’t even like living with me, I can’t imagine how hard it is for my wife. And the sad truth is, I’m not sure what to do about it.
I love what Family Life writer, Lisa Lakey wrote: “We especially feel this way with our marital struggles, right? It’s more personal. We think if we let others see what’s really going on at home, they’ll look at us differently. Judge us even. If they only knew … nope. That’s too vulnerable. Ever feel that way? Let me offer some comforting advice: Let it go.
No one has a perfect marriage. Not me, not you. Not even the couple in the pew across from yours holding hands during worship. I repeat: no one. So you’re not a fraud if you are working on your marriage. You’re not a fraud if you desperately want things to get better, but just don’t know how. And you’re not a fraud if your marriage is going through some icy patches. Let go of the guilt of not already being in a healthy place. Trust God to work in you and through you to get there.”
Sometimes there’s a thin line between authenticity and being a fraud. Pretending to be someone you’re not to make you look better in someone else’s eyes, even your spouse, is fraudulent! Especially if we’re pretending to be closer to Jesus than we know we are. But here’s the truth – we’re not perfect and won’t be this side of heaven.
Does that mean we just “go with the flow” and not care how we come across? After all, the reasoning goes, “I’m a work in progress!” Yes, that’s true, but it doesn’t give us the right to hide behind obnoxious behavior that we clearly know is not like Jesus would have us live.
Let’s look at this further in tomorrow’s post.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 