Hebrews 13:18 "Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things."
My cousin, Bill sent me an email today that had pictures of butterflies with transparent wings. It was an amazing thing to look at. Each wing was intricately made and you could see through to the flowers or tree that were behind it. As I looked at that I thought about the word transparent. So I decided to look it up. After the more scientific meaning the following definitions were given. "free from pretense or deceit, easily detected or seen through".
So often Christians talk about how important it is for us to be transparent with one another. I looked at this definition and got to thinking about whether or not I really would be or could be transparent with someone else. This would include being totally honest when questions are asked, not thinking more highly of myself than I should and demonstrating that my motivations are pure. That is a lot for any one to ask of another human.
But, if we take the Word of God seriously, we know that God has given us the capability to live a transparent life. Nothing to hide, nothing to fear and everything to gain. The Spirit that lives within each one is very God. And that Spirit provides for us all of the characteristics of Jesus Christ. He was truly a transparent man. There was nothing pretentious or deceitful about Him. His motives were pure and right. He came to honor the Father. Everything that He did was in obedience to God. We are challenged to be holy even as He is holy. That is a transparent life.
The verse that I put at the beginning is a prayer that we all should pray daily. If we pray that we would act and think in an honorable way - our conscience will be clear. And if your conscience is clear then you have nothing to fear by being transparent. People can look right through your actions to see the reality of the One that motivates your thoughts. May they see Christ in me as I seek to live a transparent life.
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1 comment:
I love this post. Being transparent and authentic is something I highly value--both in my own walk, and in those I chose as friends. I don't really believe in pretending. Life is too short. But there is danger in living a transparent life--because you become very vulnerable. It is a strange place--one that requires an enormous amount of strength to allow yourself to be vulnerable to others who may not agree with you or understand you. But there is so much freedom in it. And no pretense. I choose to walk my journey in fear of God and not of man--any man--for that matter. And I can only do it as well as I understand what that looks like. At times I may get it wrong--but who doesn't? So why not allow ourselves to be transparent about that too. Its the people who can be transparent about strengths and weaknesses, failures and successes that we really learn from, wouldn't you agree?
And by the way--thanks for making it safe for me to be transparent with you.
Much love.
B
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