There is, I fear, a subtle pressure on people in Churches to claim to be OK. We have this lurking anxiety that if I told others the truth about myself, they might judge me as spiritually inferior.

We all have our baggage. We all have habits, thoughts and hurts that can make us less than we could be. Living resentfully, angrily, selfishly etc. neither honours God nor our fellow human beings – and it is pretty unattractive.

We are in the season of Pentecost. This is surely a reminder that God wants to heal us from the inside out by the power of His transforming Spirit. If the Cross of Christ means that we can be forgiven, the Spirit of God means that we can be changed. The question is, do we want to be healed?

The Gospels introduce us to two blind men (Matthew 20:29-34). They cry out “Lord, Son of David. have mercy on us”. Remarkably Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” I say “remarkably”, because it must have been pretty obvious what they might have wanted. But of course, living life in a less-than-it-could-be way can become habit forming. It can even coax us into thinking that the way we are is secure because to risk change would be equally to run the risk of being let down and consequently more hurt.

The key to all of this is honesty. Honesty with myself; honesty with God; and honest with the people around me who love me enough to confront me with the truth.

In the Garden of Eden, the first outcome of the so-called Fall was that the man and the woman felt the need to hide (Genesis 3:10). The truth is that we all feel that need. But whilst we hide and attempt to cover our character cracks our healing will be inhibited and our churches will be less than they could be.

“Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief”

+ Mike