You Don't Have To Pretend

When I was a child I loved to pretend with my brothers.  We were whatever we wanted to be.  Explorers, doctors, police officers, fire fighters, or professional athletes, it didn't really matter.  Wherever our minds took us is where we would go.  Household objects became whatever our minds imagined them to be.  I watched my sons do the same things growing up.  It's a lot of fun.
Pretending is much less fun after we grow up.  Usually it just makes us miserable.  Trying to be in public what we aren't in private leads to guilt and frustration.  That was never God's plan for us.  I love I John 1:5-10, because one of it's great truths is that you don't have to pretend.  In church we are often tempted to present ourselves as perfect people, but John liberates us with the truth that only liars claim to be without sin.  Rather than false claims, Jesus came to purify us so that we can live in fellowship with him and walk in the light.  It's a life that leaves darkness behind, and becomes more luminous each day.
It's easier to follow Christ without pretending.  It's easier to do it with someone else as well.  I'm glad you're walking with me in the light.

Following the Son,

James A Williams

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