I keep part of myself closed in. I think we all do to some extent. Sometimes it may not even be intentional. Does anyone on this earth really know all of me? Will anyone on this earth ever know all of me? Like, really know me. I don't think so, but I think that building towards authentic fellowship means revealing who we really are. The ugliness of our innermost being. Because it is not from others that we are affirmed. We are not competent because of the few good things we do. Those don't make us competent because we all have an ugliness to our innermost being. Most of the good things, if not all, are probably done with selfish motivations anyway. That's why we are broken. We are literally sinful to the core. Yet as we grow with each other and reveal to each other our sinfulness, it feels more free to fight it back. I no longer feel entrenched in a battle of one-on-many, but I feel like I am fighting off sin with an army.

We all have an ugliness to our innermost being. We all want to keep it hidden. What would it look like if we stopped being ashamed and started being authentic?