Acceptable In Thy Sight, O Lord - The Family of Faith

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)

Growing up, “Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes” were a thing. Mama never entered the sanctuary without her wide-brimmed hat and three-inch heels. Her three girls always wore dresses with coordinating stockings, tights, or bobby socks. Our hair was freshly pressed and curled and our parts were straight. “Come as you are” was all well and good for our sinful hearts, but our bodies had to be well oiled, well clad, and beribboned from head to toe. And Daddy made sure our bottoms were in the pew when Sunday school started.

In a house about a hundred miles up the road, my future hubby and his sister were raised the same way. He attended Sunday school each week, sang in the choir, and served as an usher, always decked out in a suit and matching tie. His church family expected he’d become a preacher one day, perhaps because he already looked the part. It didn’t hurt that Hubby could find any book of the Bible without flipping to the index, a gift that amazed and inspired me when we met our freshman year of college.

Once our two became one and eventually nine, we carried on the “Sunday best” tradition. We all looked the part whenever our Sprinter lumbered to church. No way would we appear a mess, even if we fussed from our driveway to the parking lot. When we trooped into the sanctuary through the double doors—tears dried, smiles plastered—all my duckies were in a row.

Not only did we look the part; we sounded the part—at least to our own ears. We used all the fancy prayer words. I made my peeps say, “I forgive you” through their gritted teeth. Hubby and I talked about our past “mistakes,” not our sins. We sang all the worship songs and shouted “Hallelujah!” when others left their broken hearts at the altar. Every homeschool day started by reading Proverbs and Psalms and reciting the Bible books. Keeping traditions.

But there comes a time to stop playing dress-up with God, to take off the formalwear and put on Christ, and Christ alone. Tired of our fake-it-until-you-make-it faith, we had to stop acting like we had it all together when we were falling all to pieces. Driven to our knees, we asked God to peel off the façade of our traditions. Only once we offered our unadorned hearts, stripped free of pretense, did He “put on a new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:24, NLT)

Reading your Bible is one thing, but how do you form a relationship with the Living Word? For me, it looks like…

• Choosing righteousness over religiosity
• Talking with God throughout the day—out loud
• Praying the Scriptures
• Discerning, not judging
• Being transparent about our struggles, our sin, and our weaknesses and trying not to worry about what people think
• Loving still and forgiving again
• Raising our children according to what God tells us—not our parents, our neighbors, or our friends
• Crying and crying out—before, during, and after church
• Keeping our hands open so He can remove and replace what He sees fit
• Writing what Jesus calls me to, not what’s popular or what makes me look good
• And yes, taking folks to church in their holey jeans. And I don’t mean spirit-filled

Reflection Question: What traditions are you clinging to more than you’re clinging to God?