Why does the thought of living transparently before God and others terrify us? Why does it make us squirm in our seats when others share their deep pain and failure?

We long to be known, and we fear it like nothing else. Most people live with subtle dread that one day they will be discovered for who they really are, and the world will be appalled.

For most of us, the greatest risk we will ever take is opening our hearts to another human being. The thought of pouring out our innermost failures, dreams and hopes brings on a flood of emotions, primarily fear. Most married couples that we meet have very little conversation, if any, with their spouses about their fears, hurts, dreams and struggles. When we expose what has been hidden, there is an unknown factor of how others (including God) will respond.

Unfortunately, most of us have experienced rejection or isolation when we revealed our weaknesses and sins to other believers. Opening up and exposing yourself for who you really are has proven to be a risky proposition that could result in you being shot down, wounded or maybe even disassociated. If you have seen this happen to someone else, you may be thinking: If they treated him like that, what would they do to me, if they really knew me? Surely, they would reject me or use my deficiencies against me.

Why should the typical believer hope for living in the light, when they see other people ostracized for being less than perfect? No wonder transparency is so uncommon among Christians. We shouldn’t be surprised that church attendance is dropping in this country…an army that shoots it own wounded doesn’t recruit many new soldiers.

What we often fail to realize, though, is that the church isn’t broken, it’s just full of broken people. Most of those doing the ‘wounding’ are lost and wounded themselves. Hurt people hurt people. Frightened people frighten people. The fear of being exposed is a driving force in the body of Christ.

We have come to realize that people who have not experienced personal freedom outside of their salvation tend to push their bondage onto other believers. Even those who have known freedom are sometimes timid in offering that same freedom to others because of the ever-present threat of alienation or misunderstanding.

One thing is certain, when nothing is risked, nothing is gained. Let’s face it. Our fear of being ‘found out’ has us bound and gagged. Without the prospect of a large pay off, most of us will never risk revealing ourselves.

Going back to Jesus’ promise of the truth setting us free, our question to you would be: Is finding freedom worth the risk of stepping into the light? Are you tired of your counterfeit life? Are you ready to be known and loved for who you really are?

Information is from the book: The Original Sanctuary by Marc Owings and David Terry.

Order your copy today at www.elevatehim.com/store.php

Written by: Marc Owings on July 5th, 2010
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