Who Are You...Really?

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day and an awesome week coming to a close for you!

When I was driving home listening to the radio earlier this week, the announcers were talking about the lyrics that a lot of us learned when we were little, "And they'll know we are Christians by our love." The announcers then talked about how ironic it is that many, especially in Christian circles, often demonstrate everything BUT love - pick apart others, gossip, judge, etc. I also want to share a few excerpts with you from the book, "Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ A Reality in Life" by Beth Moore (I highly recommend this book to everyone - men & women):
"The best of our churches tend to welcome those captive (to alcohol, drugs, homosexuality, promiscuity, and so forth) at first; but if they don't 'fix' pretty quickly, they will probably soon be despised." She continues, "A captive in our midst wears out her [his] welcome if she [he] doesn't get with it and change." And then, Beth points to our Example, "In gracious contrast God stands by us until we are free. He never forsakes us. God is the only One who is not repelled by the depth and length of our needs. Although God never excuses our sin and rebellion, He is fully aware of what drives our actions." She further explains, "Even though my rebellion was still sin, God's heart was full of compassion. Through loving chastisement, He continued to strive with me and waited patiently for me to leave my prison."

All of this got me to thinking; who are we...really? If you can tell a tree by the fruit it bears, what type of trees are we? Not what we want to be or hope to be but what are we...really. Do words like love (genuinely caring about and wanting the best for them), compassion (genuine understanding, care & concern), honesty (complete truth without deception), integrity (doing what we say we will do...always!), excellence (always doing our best) describe us? Or maybe here is the best question of all; are peoples lives better for having crossed paths with our lives? We are bearing fruit - is it sweet and life-giving or is it bitter and life-taking?

A few thoughts/ideas:
1. I have shared before the quote from Ken Whitten; "What's in the well will always come up in the bucket." What we truly allow to be poured into our lives, the water we feed our tree, will impact the health of the tree and the type of fruit it bears. Don't think so? Why don't we water trees with acid? No, we water trees with pure, clean water. Are our lives being watered with pure, clean water or with acid? Our spiritual, mental and physical health will answer that question!

2. I would like to encourage us to take an honest self-assessment. What do our lives say about us? Do we shine as a light? How healthy, after "eating our fruit", are our spouses/partners, kids, friends, co-workers, etc.? Be honest...not what we hope but rather what is really the over-flow - the fruit - of our lives.

3. If we really want to learn, grow and become all that we were created to become, I would like to encourage us to ask others - who truly know us - to tell us what they see in our lives. Yes, it will take courage and boldness...I would like to remind us all that we were created to be courageous and bold.

My hope is that we will all sincerely give some thought to who we are...really. That we will understand that our words, our actions as well as our silence and inaction's for that matter, show who we really are. They will know we are...[each of us will finish this sentence first by what we allow to be poured into our hearts and then by the overflow of our hearts].

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for any of you. I will always be willing to help you any way I can.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please, cherish your family & friends!

Kev