The Journey for the Genuine

The journey to find genuine people is often laden with numerous obstacles. I have come to realize that the greatest obstacle on such a journey is the one that arises because of self-deception. How helpful is it to be in pursuit of “genuine” people when one has not pursued a genuine encounter with one’s self? I have often heard people say, “I want to be surrounded by people who are real.” My spirit truly resonates with this desire, for I too long to be surrounded by people who are “real” and can “keep it real,” but how can I want to find real people and be around real people if I don’t want to be honest with myself about myself? Therein lies the obstacle: the journey to find genuine people is unrealistic if we do not simultaneously begin a journey of self-discovery. Self-discovery is challenging because it requires courage to transcend the mechanisms we employ to avoid ourselves; mechanisms that have enabled us to engage in necessary avoidism. And just in case you didn’t know, the avoidism that many of us employ is necessary because we don’t always yearn to come face-to-face with ourselves.

Faith in God can supply the necessary strength for one’s search for the genuine within. I say this because most of us are fearful of what we may find when we discover our true selves, however, knowing that we are accepted and loved by God transcends the fear we may possess. In 1 John 4:18 we find these liberating words, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear……” God’s love of us and for us is our traveling companion on the journey to find our true selves. We cannot be apprehensive about what we may find, because we are loved by God. We cannot be terrified about the darkness we may uncover, because we are loved by God. We cannot be horrified by the thought of confronting our true selves, because we are loved by God. In his book, The Courage to Be, the late theologian Paul Tillich reminded us that true courage is knowing that we are accepted by God, even when we think we are unacceptable. That is liberating! That is empowering! That is God!

Peace and Blessings,

Pastor Mike