In Search of Your Authentic Self - Rev Dr Edwin Wong
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If God created us, if Christ redeemed us, if the Holy Spirit dwells in us, why is authenticity still so hard that it needs to be preached again and again?
The church cannot be an authentic community if the people, known as the church, are not living authentically. Authenticity always begins with self-acceptance. God accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us as we are, and so authenticity is also about transformation.
Biblically, authenticity isn't about staying the same. It's about being realigned with Christ. It's becoming who God is renewing you to be. Put on the new self by starting small. When authenticity moves from the heart into real life, it shows up in how we speak and in how we relate to others. If drifting one degree off course each day can slowly take us off track, then returning even one degree towards the Lord each day will also make a positive difference.
We must be a discerning community, slow to judge, careful with conclusions, and willing to seek the truth with grace. When we live this way, the church becomes a living witness to God's kingdom. How do we start living authentically?
Be doers of the word, invite God's examination, choose obedience over comfort, and practice honesty with God, with yourself, with others. Re-center Christ daily, one degree at a time.