Being Real About our Struggles
Being Real About Our Struggles
I sometimes find it difficult to be real about my struggles. Perhaps you do too. This is a common experience, for we fear that if others knew our struggles, then they may not accept us, or worse, they may outright condemn us. In the first several verses of 2 Corinthians 6 Paul communicates very vulnerably about his struggles. He says his “heart is wide open” toward the Corinthians (6:11), and he desires for them not to feel as though they must be “restricted” in their “affections” toward him (6:12). He realizes that being real and open and honest with others is a key to living in Christian community.
One of the goals of our shepherding groups at Grace is to create confidential spaces where we can be real about our struggles. The practice of our faith is not meant to be limited to Bible study, prayer, congregational singing, taking the Lord’s Supper, etc. In fact, it is possible to engage in all of these things while never getting to the core Christian practice of being real about our struggles. Being real about our struggles not only helps us to guard against the temptation of isolation, but also defuses the temptation to constantly compare ourselves with others.
As we learn to be real about our struggles together, then we are reminded that the messiness of our lives points us all together to the message of Christ and the never-ending grace that he extends to us. When our faith is grounded in the finished work of Christ, then we find the boldness to be real about our struggles, because we know that there is no struggle that can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
I sometimes find it difficult to be real about my struggles. Perhaps you do too. This is a common experience, for we fear that if others knew our struggles, then they may not accept us, or worse, they may outright condemn us. In the first several verses of 2 Corinthians 6 Paul communicates very vulnerably about his struggles. He says his “heart is wide open” toward the Corinthians (6:11), and he desires for them not to feel as though they must be “restricted” in their “affections” toward him (6:12). He realizes that being real and open and honest with others is a key to living in Christian community.
One of the goals of our shepherding groups at Grace is to create confidential spaces where we can be real about our struggles. The practice of our faith is not meant to be limited to Bible study, prayer, congregational singing, taking the Lord’s Supper, etc. In fact, it is possible to engage in all of these things while never getting to the core Christian practice of being real about our struggles. Being real about our struggles not only helps us to guard against the temptation of isolation, but also defuses the temptation to constantly compare ourselves with others.
As we learn to be real about our struggles together, then we are reminded that the messiness of our lives points us all together to the message of Christ and the never-ending grace that he extends to us. When our faith is grounded in the finished work of Christ, then we find the boldness to be real about our struggles, because we know that there is no struggle that can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
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