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“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the Church.”  Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)

At the moment of salvation—when you accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord—you are a new creation. You are transformed, redeemed, justified. At that moment, although we are given a new nature in Christ and the Holy Spirit starts living in us, we must still contend with our earth-bound flesh—our propensity to give in to sin. Until we go to Jesus or He comes for us, we live in a fallen body in a fallen world.

I say all that to say this: As a believer in Jesus (saved and born again), we are free from the penalty of sin and the wrath of God because Jesus paid it all for us. This is amazing grace! But from that point of salvation (whether it was a lightning-bolt moment or a slow realization), we must walk out our spiritual reality—becoming more and more like Jesus (called “sanctification”). This, my friend, is where Christianity gets hard.

See, if you are a believer, you have an awesome, miraculous testimony—a “I once was blind, but now I see” story. It doesn’t matter if you were five years old or 50. And hearing the testimony of others is always awe-inspiring. But this is just the beginning of our walk with Christ! It’s our “sanctification stories” that must be spoken among brothers and sisters! We must share our post-salvation trials, tribulations, and triumphs with one another. This is how we grow to become more and more like Christ (our underlying purpose in this life, per Romans 8:29).

All too often, men and women come to church buttoned up, every hair in place, and veneers of perfection intact…believing that because they’re “Christians” they must have it all together, no problems or challenges. But this isn’t what Jesus told His followers! He promised we’d have trouble in this world (John 16:33)! In order to grow in Christ—deepening our faith and love-in-action—we have to acknowledge that “walking out holiness” is a “Christian Family matter.” We are called to pray for, demonstrate love to, serve, and encourage one another. This is the unity we are meant to have in Christ (Colossians 2:2, 1 John 3:17-18).

But, friend, for this to happen, we can’t be pretenders. We have got to get real.

Our sanctification story—our Christian walk—is not a straight line. We step off path (sometimes in a painful fall), we take our eyes off Jesus or put them on self or others, and sometimes we actually start backtracking a bit. But we’re not alone in this! Other brothers and sisters have been through what we’ve been through! (No, really, they have! You are not the only one to struggle with whatever you’re struggling with!) But how can a brother or sister support you in love if you never reveal the truth about your walk?

When we get real, we can find encouragement. We can be iron to sharpen one another (Proverbs 27:17). We are strengthened (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) and love is forged. This is the real Christian life.

“Lord, You have given us the gift of unity. Allow me to share my walk with others and be an encouragement to those who open up their life to me.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life