The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
“No,” he said, “I am not.” As Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” Again Peter denied it.
John 18:17, 25-27
At some point along the way, our culture decided that being fake is the new normal. We are surrounded by fake beauty and entertained by fake personalities. And most of us spend far too much time being fake, afraid of letting others see and know our real selves, so we just keep living behind our masks. The saddest part is that we are surrounded by other accomplished fakers wearing theirs, too. Some of us pretend to think and do everything just like others to fit in: at school, at our jobs, even at church. Some of us act like someone we are not and refuse to speak up against the things that break God’s heart, just to fit in. Because like Peter, sometimes we, too, deny that we are Jesus’ followers by our words and by our actions.
When Christians act fake, we make Jesus seem fake, too. When we are spending time with people who don’t know Him, and we refuse to be authentic and honest and real, it makes Him seem inauthentic, dishonest, and fake, too. We need to be real with others so they can be real with us, because only when people are real can they see their real need for the real Savior of the World. God didn’t create any of us to be someone else. He was intentional in His design of each of us, and He’s just waiting for us to be our real selves with our real hearts that he can shape into real service!
Once you have found the real Jesus, you can be the real YOU! God loves you and doesn’t want you trying to trick Him or anyone else into thinking you are anyone other than the authentic you He created! Like Peter, He just wants you to own your mistakes and learn from them, because multiple failures don’t add up to a lifetime of failure. Jesus pursued Peter and challenged him in his devotion to his Lord (John 21:15-19), and He does the same for you. He’s walking with you, asking you if you love Him, and He will keep asking and keep pursuing until you decide to finally stop pretending to be someone you are not. Give Him an enthusiastic YES! Then ditch the mask, take His hand, and walk or run or skip with Him into your bright, authentic future. You’ll find freedom there! You are loved!