"Authentic"

He turned the key and hope she’d start,

That banged up ride of his,

Turned it over once or twice,

And let me tell you this,

Never take for granted,

An engine that will crank,

And don’t forget to credit,

The Lord above to thank.

Two-lane roads and one trailer,

A-draggin’ with a horse,

Who hopped on up when asked to,

And braced himself of course,

‘Cause high the road gets bouncy,

You’re better to go slow,

And ridin’ with somebody,

Is better if they know,

The way up to the cattle,

And where they’re using round,

And all their hiding places,

When it’s time to bring ‘em down.

He picked me up along the way,

And with that mare of mine,

Off we go to gather,

The sun was shinin’ fine.

And I thought I’d try to keep up,

With that old man beside,

But I was not expecting,

His long trot on this ride.

And I will say I was amazed,

By the country that he covered,

In and out of steep ravines,

One after another.

We’d run across the cattle,

He’s send ‘em on their way,

Once he got ‘em movin’,

Said they’d be okay.

The odds and ends and remnants,

Wild beasts that got away,

He brought ‘em down the mountain,

And would not let them stay.

And then we took a breather,

And loosened up our girths,

You could see for miles and miles,

The scenery was worth,

The distance that we traveled,

How that old desert lay,

Finally made our circle,

By the ending of the day.

And, yes, I’ll say I’m honored,

That the old man let me go,

He was a real deal cowboy,

I’m always glad to know.

But even what is greater,

That drive on our way back,

He spoke of how he found the Lord,

And got his life on track.

And when I think about it,

It all seems clearly right,

That someone who rides the country,

Rides in God’s own light.

And that is what I’m praying,

Always for me and mine,

That we will live authentic,

And God’s grace we will find.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago…” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

God offers salvation by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can’t earn it nor do we deserve it. It is based on God’s unmerited favor, and is offered to all who will believe and receive. By grace, through faith…that’s how it works. He offers us forgiveness and eternal salvation, and they are received. by faith or not at all. Then we are empowered to do good works, not to earn God’s favor but to express it. This is the only way we become authentically God’s masterpiece and live out our true identity. Let it happen.

Lord, save and change us by Your grace in Jesus’ name.