Matters of Faith

Reverend. J. Loren Russell

Luke 18:10-17 NKJV

 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 

And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

I Googled an artificial intelligence (AI) overview for a description of an authentic person and found the following: “To be an authentic person, you need to know yourself (self-awareness), own your choices (self-acceptance), and align your behavior with your values, which involves listening to your inner voice, being honest (even when vulnerable), and acting in ways that feel true to you, rather than just pleasing others or trying to be perfect. It’s a journey of consistent self-reflection and mindful action, focusing on internal alignment over external validation.”

There is value to this definition that applies to the concept of being your authentic self, or answering my question, “Who are you?”

In the text, we see the Pharisee, the publican, and the Disciples. All of them are behaving in ways that are contradictory to those titles. Job descriptions do not define who you are, only what you do. Neither of these two men or the Disciples are behaving as their titles would suggest.

The problem with both the Pharisee and the Disciples was that they both thought it was about what they did and not who they were! Both the Pharisee and Jesus’ Disciples  wanted to be recognize based on the things that they did; the Pharisee because of his big “I”s (“God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”), and the disciples because of what they were doing…, hanging out with Jesus.

Of the publican, Jesus compares him to the Pharisee and says, “this man went back to his house forgiven, and not the other man. For whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important”(NLV). To His Disciples, he offers a real-life illustration of authenticity by receiving little children; “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein”.

Jesus is not  looking for a made-up character fashioned out of all the traditions in society. He’s looking for the REAL you! The child that still lives in each and every one of us! 

Who are you?

Be Blessed!