In Sincerity
By Mindy Silva
“Grace be with
all those who
love our Lord
Jesus Christ in
sincerity. Amen”
(Ephesians
6:24).
And so, Paul
wraps it up in
this letter to
the Ephesians.
I highlighted
“in sincerity”
in my Bible. I
have read this
book and this
chapter so many
times throughout
the years, yet
it wasn’t until
the other day
these two words
rose up from the
page to meet the
eyes of my
understanding.
Was Paul trying
to give us the
key to
everything else
he had written?
He did have a
lot to say, and
he said it. Yet,
these two words
bring out his
teaching,
into one little
nutshell…sincerity
(sin cere;
without wax…).
Grace be with
who all those
love our Lord
Jesus Christ…in
sincerity. Was
he hinting there
were some who
didn’t? What
proves this
sincerity in
loving Jesus?
The rest of the
Epistle, not
doing this, or
that other
thing, behaving
like saints,
abstaining from
doing things not
conducive to
remaining
saintly.
What then makes
it so difficult,
not to?
Insincerity.
What is it about
the word that
denotes the lack
of saintly
character,
habits, and
makeup?
Not being
sincerely in
love with Jesus.
It’s like every
relationship on
this earth. When
you are
insincere, you
are being a
hypocrite. A
hypocrite acts
as if he is
sincere, doesn’t
he? A
hypocrite’s
actions and
words are meant
to fool others
because he lacks
sincerity. Truth
is lacking. The
hypocrite goes
through the
motions. There
is no respect
for other’s
time, emotions,
or personhood.
There is an
agenda in their
actions. They
are duplicitous
– there is
nothing you can
bank on in their
words or their
actions. When
sincerity reigns
in a person’s
character, it
reigns in their
heart. And
through the
mouth, the heart
speaks. When
there is no
sincerity, we
are then being
insincere. There
is no love.
There is no “in
love.”
And you know
that. And I know
that. But have
you ever come
face to face
with it? Before
your born-again
days, I know
just how you
must have
handled
it…probably the
same way I did.
But what about:
now? After my
divorce,
which
took place a
couple of years
ago, I was
informed by, the
ex, that he
loved me as
friend, but
didn’t love me
as a wife. When
I asked when did
he realize this,
he said five
minutes after
proposing to me.
Well, that
explained
things! There
was no sincerity
– he had been
insincere from
the very
beginning! It
could never
work. (But that
wasn’t the
reason for the
divorce, just in
case some are
wondering…)
Paul knew that
only those who
are sincere in
loving our Lord
can abstain from
doing all the
wrong things he
took mighty
pains to warn us
against. Most of
us ignore poor
Paul! We ignore
the signs of
insincerity, and
end up calling
good for evil
and evil for
good! Our gift
of discernment
gets blunted,
until it finally
disappears.
In relating what
he taught, in
these two words
he made it clear
that there were
some who acted
like they loved
Jesus, yet were
insincere
because
they were just
acting like they
did. What makes
for insincerity
in our actions?
Doing the
opposite of what
we are supposed
to do. Being the
opposite of what
we are supposed
to be. Having a
divided heart.
Not being whole,
complete. Not
loving truly.
And that’s the
marker of our
relationship
with Jesus,
isn’t it?
Sincerity is the
mark of being
true, of being
truly
in love with
our Lord Jesus.
www.burundanga.net
©Mindy
Silva 2013
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