Transparency in Christ

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

To be transparent is to walk with an undefiled conscience and a pure heart.  Walking in a state of repentance ensures such transparency, because both are based upon honesty, the one thing God values above all else in His saints.

I’m sure you all have heard the old saying, “Nobody’s perfect.”  All of us stumble and fall, all of us make mistakes and say things we wish we hadn’t, done things we found out later hurt people, misuse our time, talents and abilities, let people down, and act out of our flesh instead of the Spirit.

The devil would love to keep us drowning in self-pity over all our failures and shortcomings, and would love to have others beat us down with guilt.  But the beauty of our GRACE relationship with God is that He knows we are weak and prone to stumble, and yet He is there waiting to pick us up, dust us off and send us on our way when we stop and confess to Him that we “aren’t perfect.”  

Think about this, if we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior!  That’s why God sent His perfect Son. He knew we couldn’t live up to the standards of perfection, so His Son was and IS the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins, for all of us.  It doesn’t give us license to continue in sin so that God’s grace can flourish, but it does provide a way of forgiveness when we fall short.  That should make you want to lift up your hands and praise the Lord!   

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve failed or made a mess of your life; if you can this day accept sole responsibility for your sins, wholly take the blame, and say I am the one with brokenness and sorrow, then there is no limit to what God will do in your life.  Just be honest with Him, be utterly transparent.  Own your sin and cry out for God to make you more like Jesus Christ.  

Let us all remember to hold ourselves up to the LIGHT of God’s Word, and His love, mercy and grace, and to be transparent in Christ.  Our scripture verses today both convict and compel me to continue to be transparent before God and others, and to lovingly remind other believers to do the same. Remember, He has provided a way that if we fail, we have the immediate power of the cleansing blood of Christ that operates by true repentance and faith by being totally honest with God concerning our miserable selves.  In a moment, you can be restored and put back on the pathway of victory.

You will be transparent and you will see God begin to use you in a fresh new light that causes a beautiful reflection to be seen by others.  It will be Jesus shining through you!