It's Time to Get Real

To be honest I'm kind of sick of hearing about how great things are for you, not to be mean or anything. It's just that once I want to hear a "painfully real" testimony. Don't get me wrong I'm not discounting anyone's testimony, that's not my place or purpose. I just want pure unadulterated honesty. Honesty that says, "Yeah, I believe. Yeah, life still isn't amazing." As humans our nature is to seek out the heroes, the overcomers, the successful, but the truth is sometimes faith itself is the reward. I hear so many testimonies of people who talk about God's blessings and the prosperity they've found by following Christ. That just isn't the case for everyone, or for that matter it's usually not the case for most of us.

Just one time I want to hear someone be completely honest about how their circumstances were still pretty rough even after choosing to embrace faith full-on. They still struggled daily, still got sick, still had to suffer tragedies, etc. I don't for one second believe that God loves His children who fight and scrape to just stay alive anymore than those who are prospering with no worries of where their next meal will come from. Please understand that I realize that I am unbelievably blessed. I also realize that at the end of the day God isn't my "genie in a bottle". Just because I choose to do or not do certain things doesn't mean life is going to be grand. At the end of the day our faith has only promised us one thing in this life...that we won't go through the bad stuff alone.

Our reward isn't meant to be here on earth. So while we may celebrate the blessings that some have just keep in mind that it doesn't paint a picture of God's love for anyone. Remember that the person who is barely hanging on may be stronger in faith than you or I could ever be. Remember that we aren't going to ever get it all while we're here. And most of all remember that faith isn't truly faith if it's all about what you get or how you've been blessed. Faith is about hope and knowing that there is something so much better waiting for us. So look to the ones who haven't arrived but are still fighting...they are strong ones. The fight is what makes us all strong, because that's when faith is harder to hold onto.