Are You an Authentic Nectarine?

Yeah it is about time to blog again.

Life has been pretty crazy and filled with change but enough whining. Here I sit today on the deck with a coffee and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Yeah real nice. Where are the kids you ask - with the babysitter  -  WII/TV/computer. I never claimed perfect parenting. I admit it - wow that was liberating. It is a little scary to admit such a thing in this age of public scrutiny of our personal lives (at least famous people - not sure I qualify) but being authentic today is vital. There are far too many things that are just not real. We are bombarded by phoniness at every turn. Funny that I write these things with an election looming. We see all too often that people for what ever reason try and be something that they are not. Sometimes this depends on who is around or what may be at stake. In the position I hold as a pastor in a Christian denomination very often we can be fooled into thinking that we need to be perfect or have it all together. This act of futility always backfires and usually bitterness and resentment is all that remains - that is not good for anyone. I have been tempted myself to fall into this trap and I ask the question why? Has God put this demand upon me? I have yet to find the scripture that says I should pretend to be perfect as the Scriptures are clear  in Romans 3:23 "that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory". So why does it happen? I suppose there are as many reasons as bees trying to sting me as I write this. I like honey but the bees are for the birds. What ever the reason they are a lie really. Every time we try and be what we cannot be we not only deceive ourselves but those around us and deception is not from God. Please understand I am not saying we should go around acting in any manner that we choose or not to put your best foot forward but be what you are.

So why do I write of this conundrum? Because of some nectarines. Yeah nectarines. Allow me to explain.

A few weeks ago the family and I went to a farmer's market known for its great delights of fresh produce and baked goods and so on. Much of these wonders are produced or crafted by those in the Amish community. There is just something special about buying goods from people who have chosen a different pathway of life refusing to just go along with the world and its modernity. I admire and respect them. So I was excited as I could envision the many purveyors of sausage and the homemade pastries and fresh grown produce. We enjoyed ourselves and brought home some treats  - among them some fruit. We had blueberries, raspberries and some nectarines that I bought from a nice gal wearing what one would believe to be the garb of a person from the Amish community. The issue was that when I went to pick a nectarine there were stickers on some that said they were produced in California! They even had the grocery store code on some. I was indignant - I felt duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled. I had not bought Amish grown nectarines - I am not even sure the person who sold them to me at the farmers market under a tarp in Amish looking clothing was even an  Amish girl!. Did she cheat me? Was I victimized? Am I being a little over the top? Maybe to all three. My point is that what I thought I was getting I was not and from now on I will always wonder if the person at the market is what they appear to be. Because of one experience that was not what I thought it would be I may be forever tainted.
This experience only highlights for me the danger in trying to be what you are not as a pastor or even a follower of Christ. We are not perfect. We possess all the flaws and issues that plagues all of humanity. When we try and put on a false front we not only cause ourselves pain at times but we run the risk of creating the same issue that I outline in the nectarine saga - tainted experiences.

Let us be what we are - people who have for what ever reason and by whatever means come to understand that we are not perfect. If we act like who we are, with all of our brokeness and flawed humanity, people might see God for who he is - The perfect Creator, Governor, Preserver and Sustainer of all things and who knows I might just get me a real authenic Amish nectarine.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.