William Faulkner, the novelist, toiled for years as an unknown, disrespected writer in rural Mississippi before he finally gained recognition.

When he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950, his acclaim grew. When approached later about the literary people and authors he associated with, Faulkner shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know any literary people. The people I know are other farmers and horse people and hunters and we talk about dogs and guns and what to do about the hay crop or this cotton crop, not about literature.”

You see Faulkner befriended real people, unpretentious people. He befriended people honest about their lives and about living.

He chose to surround himself with those who populated his stories and actually lived his intensely human fiction, rather than those who simply talked about the South, or wrote about the South.

Authenticity!! It is the ingredient that will make your Christian life convincing. And repentance is the first step to getting there.

Who are the authentic people YOU value. What makes them authentic to you?

My Commentary:

William Faulkner understood something many people never learn: greatness has nothing to do with the circles you move in, but with the truth you live from. He didn’t seek status or literary admiration. He chose the company of farmers, hunters, and horsemen—the same kind of people whose sweat and struggle shaped his stories. Their honesty grounded him. Their simplicity sharpened him. Their real lives gave his fiction its heartbeat.

Faulkner reminds us that authenticity is the soil where meaning grows. In a world full of posturing, performance, and polished appearances, authenticity stands out like a clean window letting in light. And the same is true in the Christian life. Faith becomes believable not when it is eloquent, but when it is real.

Repentance is the doorway to that kind of authenticity—because repentance tells the truth. It refuses pretending. It admits what is broken so grace can do its work.

Faulkner trusted the voices of those who lived their truth. Our faith becomes compelling when we do the same.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY GOING TO LIFT YOU HIGHER – HIGHER UP TO GOD!

Please share today’s Message with a young person, teenager or young adult.