I carry an 1878 Morgan silver dollar in my pocket. I do it for a couple of reasons. For one, a dear friend gave it to me a number of years ago and told me that every time I reached in my pocket and felt the coin, it would be a reminder that he was praying for me–a pretty good reason.
But there’s another reason. I carry it because it is authentic. It is the real deal. it is the most authentic thing I have that actually identifies me with the cowboy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the exact currency cowboys carried in their pockets and used to buy, sell and trade.
You know the old saying, “If only this coin could talk!” I often rub the silver dollar between my thumb and finger and wonder, where all has this coin been? How many pockets, how may hands have handled it? How many transactions, and for what? Maybe a shot of whiskey? Maybe a bath and shave at the end of the trail. Maybe a meal or a soft bed for the night to ease the pains of a spent old drover.
But whatever and however and wherever, it is in my possession now, a reminder of the Real Deal; an authentic reminder of an age and a time too soon gone.
Maybe you have something just as authentic–a pair of spurs, a bridle, a branding iron; something actually used, handed down to you. Maybe it’s a memory or a skill or a story. My grandfather as young wrangler helped push cattle from Texas to rail-heads in the north. For hours I would sit on his lap and listen to stories told by one who was actually there, who actually watched the lightening play across the tips of the long-horned cattle, who helped stem stampedes,who actually fought off the dust and the heat and the boredom of the long drives.
I believe authenticity is important; and no more so than with our faith. The silver dollar I carry in my pocket is authentic. It is the real deal. It has stood the test of time and will stand any other test as to it’s genuineness. I believe our faith must be the same, as well–authentic, true, real, genuine.
How do we have true, genuine faith? How do we know our faith is authentic? Well, a couple of ways:
I. In order to have authentic faith, our relationship with Jesus must be authentic.
The Bible in John 1:12-13 says . . . “But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
II. Authentic faith will result in an authentically changed and transformed life.
The Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 5:17 writes . . . “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Want something authentic in your life? Try Jesus! He’s the REAL DEAL!