TRUE OR FALSE?

"The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.  He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.  Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (I love this picture of him.........just sitting communing with his Father.) Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed, "Everyone is looking for you!"  Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby village--so I can preach there also.  That is why I have come."  Mark 1:33-38

You may have heard the term Codependency.  To be codependent is to live in a 'false self'.   Being un-codependent is to throw off your old 'false self' and to be your 'true self'.  This kind of authenticity was seen in the life of Jesus.  And because of it he disappointed many people...........

• his family to the point that they wondered if he was out of his mind.
  
• the people he grew up with in Nazareth.  When he declared himself to be the Messiah, they tried to push him off a cliff.
  
• his closest friends when he didn't meet their expectations of the kind of Messiah they wanted  They quit on him.
• the crowds.  They wanted a Messiah who would feed them, overthrow their Roman oppressors, and work miracles.  They walked away from him.
• the religious leaders who didn't appreciate him disrupting their lives and theology.  They said he was demonized and crucified him.

Jesus, I am so grateful that you understand what it is like to feel pressure from the expectations of others.  I want to throw off my old 'false self' and live my 'true self' in relationship with others.  Lord, help me to love others well, while at the same time, remaining faithful to you and to myself.  Amen

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