By Do you ever feel like a fraud around other Christians?
Maybe you know someone who leads a small group every week. Maybe you see someone at the gym reading their Bible between sets (I do!). You feel like a fake because you fell asleep during prayer last night. And the only thing you studied this morning was your TikTok app.
Hear me: You are not a fraud.
For years, many Christians have measured who’s a “real” Christian by activity. More Bible reading meant more legitimacy. Prayer time became a measure of closeness to God. Miss a day, and you start to feel like you’re just playing a part.
But this is not how the earliest Christians understood their relationship with God.
Paul said it plainly in 1 Corinthians 6:17: “the person joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” See that? Joined to the Lord as one spirit. That means your standing with God is never something you get by looking the part. It is something you enjoy as one joined to Christ.
He got this from Jesus, who likened our connection to God to a vine and branches (see John 15:5).
Envision that. A branch does not perform to stay attached to the vine. It stays connected because it is a branch. The life of the vine flows through it without effort, all day, every day. That is your life with God right now.
Don’t let the enemy make you feel like a fraud because someone reads more or serves more or gives more. Their routine doesn’t make their faith more real than yours. You’re just as loved, just as forgiven, and just as His as they are, Bible open or not.
Maybe declare this today: “I am not a fraud; I am His!”
(To be sure, this doesn’t mean your faith won’t show up in real, visible ways. It will. Those ways just won’t be produced by routines or rules. They’ll be born of the Spirit in you.
My Undisciplined series walks through exactly what that looks like in prayer, Scripture, dealing with sin, and everyday life. Get all six messages instantly for your donation of any amount.)