LIVING IN TRUTH

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author (recently booted out of the Southern Baptist Convention for allowing women to be preaching pastors. Yeah! Go Rick, go and don’t look back) wrote:

“Many Christians believe God expects us to pretend to live a perfect life in front of our nonbelieving neighbors. Hide our problems. Mask our pain. Cover up our sins. The result is that Christians are labeled hypocrites and phonies. Everyone already knows we don’t have it all together.

What if instead we did the exact opposite? What if we Christians were vulnerable, upfront, and honest about our mistakes, problems, and fears? That would be refreshing, authentic, and attractive. Unbelievers have the same problems we do. They can’t see how we deal with our problems biblically if we’re always hiding them. In many ways, Christians have it all wrong. We think people are impressed by our prosperity. But actually, they’re more impressed with how we handle adversity. It’s not our success but how we handle suffering that gives our witness credibility.”

“If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Jesus