Get Real

This whole month of May I decided to preach a series before my Sabbatical entitled, "Get Real." This past Sunday I talked about "Image is Everything". It really is. In our culture it's all about looking good and feeling good. We are bombarded with ads for products that will make us cool, hip, or rad. By wearing a certain brand of clothing, we project a certain image.

I remember in high school, the fad was to wear Polo Oxford button-down collar shirts. That was the trend. I wanted to project the "preppy" image because that's what the smart, rich kids wore and I wanted to be like them. But the real me was poor and not very smart. I slacked off in high school and barely maintained a C+ average. I desperately wanted to be cool and fit in. I wanted people to like me (the fake me). I was afraid that if they knew the real me they wouldn't like me. (Before I moved in with foster parents, I lived in a roach-infested mobile home - not cool.)

Why is it that we often forget we are all created in the image of our Maker? (see Genesis 1:26-27). It is so easy to quickly conform to the false image of our surroundings. That is exactly what Israel did right after God miraculously released them from their Egyptian captivity. For hundreds of years, the only image they had of themselves was worthless slaves, but God revealed to them that they were his chosen, beloved people - HOWEVER - because it's hard to break the culture's hold, they quickly forget whose image they were made in.

Psalm 106:19-21 says, "At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt."

How often do we do the same thing today? God has given us His image of glory but we exchange it for that blue Polo oxford shirt? My response? GET REAL!

Recognize your identity is NOT in what you wear. We are not what we do, not what we have, and not what other people think about us. We have been created in the very image of God and with the help of His Spirit, we can project that image to others.