Sunday Devotion- Being Real

Janet Rubin

I shuffle down the driveway in my husband’s too-large slippers, the ones I put on because I was too lazy to locate my own footwear. I move as fast as I can, both because it’s very cold this winter day, and because I’m hoping to slip out to the roadside mailbox and back to my cozy couch and laptop without the neighbors catching sight of me, still in my jammies at two in the afternoon. But it’s hard not to be noticed with two jumping, barking Labradors escorting you all the way.

I retrieve my mail and flip through the contents on my way back up the drive. Bill, bill, credit card offer… oooh, what’s this? Writer’s Digest! I’d forgotten about the subscription I ordered when my Girl Scout daughters were selling magazines. I scan the article highlights on the cover. Yeah baby, I get Writer’s Digest magazine. How writerly is that?

I love all of the things that make me feel like a writer: the stack of how-to-write books that sit on my desk (well-dusted if not well-read), my membership to the American Christian Fiction Writers association, the cool writer-type people I hob knob with online and even got to meet at the conference in Dallas, actual business cards with my picture and blog addie on them, and now…Writer’s Digest.

But these things don’t make me a writer. It’s writing that makes me a writer. Cracking open those how-to books and learning from them. Getting something edited to the point that it can be enjoyed by a reader. If I never write anything, it doesn’t matter how many writer’s groups I belong to or magazines I get—I’m not being a writer. Writer’s write.

It’s easy for me to have all the appearances of a godly woman, but be far from God in my heart. There are plenty of “Christian” things in my life—fish emblems on my mini-van, Christian books and Bibles all over my house, a Daily Bread beside the commode in my bathroom. I belong to a great church, surround myself with Christian friends, play Christian music all day long. I get Dr. Dobson’s newsletter and Franklin Graham’s too. It all looks very Christian-y, I’m sure. But only God and I know the truth. Sometimes, it’s all a disguise, a good-looking get-up worn by a prodigal daughter who hasn’t given God so much as a moment in days. Man, I hate that.

God doesn’t care how good we look on the outside. He cares what’s in our hearts. When God sent Samuel to David’s family to anoint a new king, Samuel was checking out David’s tall, strong, and handsome brothers, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

When He looks at my heart, I want Him to see a real desire to please Him, a true love for my Savior and my fellow man. Writers write. Christians love.

Lord,
I want to be real. A genuine Christ-follower. A daughter who has an intimate relationship with her heavenly Father and real love for others. Not just someone who looks good. Don’t let me be content with simply letting the world think I’m doing okay. Help me walk the walk, living my life before You, in truth.
Amen