Keepin' it Real

Sometimes Christianity becomes a journey of self-improvement.

Striving, trying, always trying to become stronger, wiser, holier.

Admirable, certainly.

Even essential.

But in the midst of it all,

We often get swept up and caught up.

We pretend to be who we're trying to become.

And we often forget.

That true wisdom, pure and unadulterated by fleshly influences,

Does not exist in a world that obscures our sight and hearing and sense of truth.

And we are wisest when we admit our foolishness.

That transparency, honesty, truth pure and simple,

Is impossible in a world that is merely a reflection of a reflection of what is really real.

And we are most real when we admit our masked existence, our façades, our hypocrisy.

That perfection, Christ-likeness in the way Christ was like, which is to say, in totality,

Is unattainable while we are trapped in these jars of clay.

And we come closest when we admit our failings, our brokenness, our need. 

All in all, we too often forget.

That all progress, all virtue, is an illusion,

If we can't keep it real.

P.S. I get that this post is even more obscure than the rest thusfar. Profound thoughts and images and unfinished sentences abound in my mind. It may take some time to make sense of it. Like, you know, the rest of my life. I blame exams. Mainly because exams are my favourite thing to blame, even more so than the weather. And God, and pretty much everyone who knows me, knows that I love blaming the weather.