If becoming a Christian begins with admitting, “Lord, I’m a sinner in need of your mercy,” then being a Christian necessarily means dropping the false pretense. To say “I’m a Christian” is to say “I don’t have it all together, and I know it, and I’m humbled by it, and I rely on God’s grace every day.”

But we’re not only humbled before God; we’re humble toward one another. We can be open to what we can learn from others—their knowledge and experience. And we can be vulnerable enough to share what we’ve learned from the victories and challenges of our own lives. And we can be free to accept when others notice our blind spots (as illustrated in the Johari Window). We may not be able to create I-Thou moments, but we can be ready for them to happen by being transparent—both with God and with each other. Even so, we just can’t indiscriminately share the deepest thoughts and longings of our hearts with anyone and everyone. It takes time to build that kind of trust with someone. And any of us would be blessed to have such a friendship.