Day #16: Saturday, March 14
Netflix Weekend
Messiah: Episode 4
Clip: 8:00 – 16:00
Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 28:9-10
New Testament: John 4:1-26
Practice: Silence
Music: None – rest in the silence
Who really knows you? We all have various walls that we put up between ourselves and those around us – often unwittingly. The walls between us and strangers are the highest, but some of us really struggle with allowing anyone to really get to know us. Taking our walls down is difficult as we allow our shortcomings and insecurities to be put on full display. Again, it’s not often on purpose that we do this, but it seems to be a natural defense mechanism. Vulnerability is difficult for us all. We would just as soon keep to ourselves – especially when it comes to the most difficult and private matters in our lives. Our earlier reflection on confession come to mind in this context.
That seems to be one of the most intimidating things about Jesus – in his interactions with others, he already knew them. The clip from Messiah helps us imagine the pain and insecurities we all deal with and just how devastating it can be when those walls are forced down. This immediately brings to mind Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well. She tried to slip a half-truth past Jesus, but he was quick to point out her full truth. That’s at the heart of Jesus’ work in our lives – he speaks the truth into our lives, and truth is a difficult thing for us to handle.
When we keep our walls up high around us, we may begin to believe our half-truths and the false reality we create. If we ignore our insecurities long enough, we begin to believe they no longer exist. Everyone reading this has insecurities. Everyone reading this struggles with vulnerability. Today, spend some time in silence and consider ways you can become more vulnerable. Who are some of the people you can trust? Who are the people you lean on? How transparent have you been with them? If we have difficulty trusting others, it’s not very likely we have given God full disclosure.