Ho…Ho…Ho…Welcome to December! Wow. I blinked and here we are again…rummaging through attics and storage closets for décor that we hope can survive just one more Christmas season…body checking at the toy and electronics store (that is, if we’re even still allowed in the stores after the “jockeying for position” we did just before 4:00am on Black Friday)…and hoping that the obscure gifts we bought for those special “someones” on our list, especially those gifts we grabbed online, are…“what they are supposed to be.”
Have you ever been in a store…picked up an item off the shelf…read the tag…and realized that what you were holding was not the tag said it should be? Even the most experienced and savvy salesperson would not be able to convince a person holding a chainsaw that it was actually a bag of M&M’s…despite being identified as such by the tag. One of my all-time favorite songs is “Jesus Freak” by dc Talk. Hands down…one of the greatest Christian rock songs of all-time. When it pops up on the iPod, the volume can’t be loud enough for me. I sing like I have the ability and, for a few seconds during the song, I can rap. “What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak? What will people do when they find that it’s true? I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus Freak. There ain’t no disguisin’ the truth.” What about you?Does the merchandise (you) match the tag? There is a saying I have heard many times and is one that hits me square in the gut every time I think about it because I know there are times that I struggle with my own answer. That question is: “If I were to be accused of being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict me?”
Have you ever strolled through an urban market or a gauntlet of street vendors selling “genuine, knock-offs”? What does that actually mean? That it’s a genuine fake as opposed to a… what…non-genuine fake? I mean…is that a good thing? I make light of it but when it comes to us, as people, it is no joking matter. Take a fake Rolex watch, for example. On the surface and at a quick glance, it may look real…genuine. But after a closer look, when it’s really examined, its true identity is revealed. I have to admit that I have a fake Rolex that I bought from a street vendor in the Bahamas one year while on vacation. It’s a fairly nice watch and it looks a lot like a real Rolex. At a quick glance, it’s hard to tell the difference. I know it’s not real. And I am reluctant to wear it in case someone sees it and either thinks it’s real or thinks I’m trying to pull it off as being real. However, I do wear it periodically as a reminder that I can fool anyone at first glance, maybe even for a little while, but at some point…if I’m a fake…I’ll be found out. I’m talking about me as much as the watch.
In today’s world of maintaining a certain look, status, or lifestyle, we can find ourselves trying to “fake it until we make it”. Why? To be accepted? Fit in? What happens if we’re found out? What happens to our credibility? And, if by some chance we are able to live out the charade without anyone finding out, it’s all for not because we know the truth…and so does God. “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9)
Despite what my tag might read, I will be known by my actions, lifestyle, work ethic, character, and integrity…my fruit. We, the body of Christ, can be the biggest obstacle to people coming to know Jesus if what our tag reads and what people actually see…don’t match. Remember, the only way God can truly work through us is for the merchandise (us) to match the tag. Until next time…KEEP IT REAL…and Armor Up!
Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the greatest Gift ever given. “God showed us how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” (1 John 4:9 NLT)
Please remember our military that are away from their loved ones…in harm’s way…protecting our freedoms and our way of life. May God be with them and protect them. I pray they…and you…have a blessed Christmas and New Year.
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Jeff Searcy 