Authentic Christianity

The word authentic, means = worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact, conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features, made or done the same way as an original, not false or imitation, real, actual, genuine, being actually and exactly what is claimed, authentic implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact, it can also stress painstaking or faithful imitation of an original.
Is your Christianity according to Biblical truth? Do you live something real, something that comes from your every day experience with God? Or is your Christianity something dictated by others, something unnatural, false, a Christianity that lacks essence?
When David wanted to fight Goliath, Saul dressed him up with his heavy armor and his sword, but David couldn't move with those on. The same thing happens when others try to teach you "their way of fighting' and try to 'dress us up' with new rules and tactics, that for sure work in their case, but is useless in our case and to our relatioship with God. David had a good and strong relatoship with God, a relationship built in intimacy, siplicity, and he was aware of what God can do for him, that's why he didn't need Saul's war strategy nor the tools that Saul used and were helpful to him.
A good example for my point, are vegetables. There are vegetables that are grown in a very natural way, without adding anything to them, but most vegetables are grown with all kinds of chemical compounds that makes them look incredible. The ones that are 'forced' to grow look really good on the outside, but have no taste. It's the same with many Christians today.
We look good on the outside, we show what people want to see, and that's all we care about, but sadly we have no taste. Jesus was telling his disciples:
"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Matthew 5:13
What do we look like on the inside? What do we taste like? Are we just "good looking" Christians that have a certain charisma? Are we the kind of Christians that try to sell a 'a good product' which is Jesus?
What is the fragrance we spread around us? Is it the holy perfume of Christ, or is it a man made perfume?
The 21st Century Church has created it's own perfume, it's own look, a good image, but sadly, lacking any real taste.
What kind of vegetable or fruit would you prefer? One that looks good but has no taste, or one that doesn't look that great but has a great taste? I prefer the second choice. But those kind of fruits and vegetable can't really be found in our supermarkets, much like you can't find real Christians in our Super Churches. Due to our desire to look 'spiritual' (of course to look spiritual in the Church, because we don't want to seem fanatics to the people in the world) we jump major steps in our Christianity. Our every day life doesn't reflect the image of Christ. If you would be named the ambassador of Romania in America, you wouldn't behave in a sloppy manner, now would you? I don't think so. You know why? Because you would have a boss that would fire you for misrepresenting an entire nation. It's sad that we, as ambassadors of God's kingdom on earth, don't really care about the impression we give to the people in the world, and even worse, we don't fear (respect) our 'boss'. I am tired of empty words made up to seem spiritual, words that are not followed by action and a fake living compared to what you pretend you are when you go to Church. If I wouldn't be a Christian, I wouldn't want this kind of Christianity. The essence of Christianity is proved in our every day living.
When Jesus talks about the salt of the earth, he addresses a question that we should ask ourselves as well. If the salt will lose it's taste, how will it ever recover that attribute? How can we get recover our flavor and the strength to be salt again for those around us? We find a little bit of the answer in John 15. If we remain in Him and if His words remain in us, we will bring forth fruit, because apart from Him we can do nothing. He is the vine, we are the branches. Our life comes from being in the vine. It's from Him that we get our taste. You don't have o try to hard, it's not something you force to happen, it's a natural flow that comes from the surse, which is Jesus, and it flows towards the others. I want to dare you to discover the simplicity of the authentic Christianity, just the way the first Christians lived it in Antioch, a plesant perfume that spreaded from Christ to others, and it's the same perfume that got you as well.
'Whose adorning let it not be that outward [adorning] of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, [even the ornament] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.' 1 Peter 3:3-4
Treasure the intimacy you have with Christ, be transformed by Him, and don't jump over major steps that are crucial in knowing Him. Christianity is not a race, it's a marathon.

Servant of Jesus
Pastor Rareș Călugăr