Over the summer I made a move into a new house. Grateful that the actual move itself is over, I have begun the hunt for all the little things that make a house a home like:
- -Artwork
- -Rugs
- -Potted plants
- -Framed family pictures
Standing in the aisles of Home Goods and Bed Bath and Beyond it all began to feel fake. Don’t get me wrong—I love a great price on throw pillows as much as the next person, but it slowly began to dawn on me that the $14.99 vase was missing something.
What I wanted wasn’t just a vase; I wanted it to have some meaning. Meaning that isn’t about the price tag and it being expensive or not, but meaning that is authentic—even if just to me.
As I set up my new home I realized the things I value the most are pieces like the large wood salad bowl passed down from my Italian Grandmother who served countless salads dressed in olive oil and vinegar from that bowl. And my Mother’s ridiculously heavy, ornate wood desk from her wedding shop in Northern Kentucky that she had for over twenty years. I have searched, paid for, and returned other desks because I could not bring myself to part with the meaning that I feel when I sit behind hers, which is exactly the place where I am writing this blog from today.
Meaning isn’t about holding onto the past or keepsakes from lifetimes gone by; meaning is about value and the aesthetic coming together.
There has been a trend in home design for quite a few years now of repurposing old things to be used in new ways. I love this idea of returning to the authentic to build a home. It is the desire to have meaning represented where we live.
In the same way, I believe there is a deep cry in the hearts of people right now to return to the authenticity of their faith. It’s a thirst for why we became Christians in the first place and a hunger for knowing the person Jesus first hand rather than just being told about Him. It’s about authentically investing time in real intimacy with Him, whether that’s:
- -In a favorite chair in a living room
- -Tucked away in a prayer closet
- -Fifteen minutes in the car on the way to a job or school
- -A quiet walk through the woods
If it is coming from authentic you then it doesn’t matter what the aesthetic is; to Him, it is the authenticity of it coming from the real you that has the greatest meaning.
Jesus said, “But the hour is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.” John 14:23 (BSB)
You could say it’s a big deal to God to engage with you and I in true worship that originates out of our spirit. I believe right now there is a new, revolutionary approach to Christian living in a return to the authentic. This looks like putting the book in our hands and reading those scriptures again. It looks like letting our worship flow up and out of our hearts.
After all, it isn’t the perfectly said prayer but the authentic prayer that rings true. These are the sounds that are a sweet, sweet sound in His ear.