The Real Thing

It's not uncommon for God to speak to me through rather unusual circumstances or obscure object lessons. Tonight was no exception. After having been to a seminary class with Pastor Chuck (which was quite awesome I might add), I decided to go to Checkers for some food. Chuck had to go home so we were unable to talk afterwards which, after my initial disappointment, turned out to be a blessing. Out of that time alone with God came this thought.

As I opened the wrapper of my highly anticipated "bacon cheese champ burger", I was once again brought to the realization, that fast food almost never looks like the picture. The picture, of course, being the "real thing". The pictures that we so often see, specifically of food, has been brought to a level that could be categorized as "false advertising". Why is that? It's because the picture and the product 99% of the time do not match up. Many times they don't even have a CLOSE resemblance. If the product we purchase looked like the picture, wouldn't we tell somebody? And likewise, if the product doesn't look like the picture, won't we tell someone? I know I would.

In 24+ years of living, I have had 1 (one) instance of a fast food product actually looking like the picture. Ironically enough, it was a "bacon cheese champ burger" from the  Checkers on Hillsborough by the airport. Not only did it look like the picture, it looked better than the picture! When I unwrapped it expecting to have to reconstruct the burger before eating it, I was quite shocked to see the perfection, the artistry, the care taken to construct a product of this grade. I seriously did not want to eat it. I wanted to preserve it for as long as I could. It really looked that good! Now of course, this is food. I was hungry. And so I ate it. It was GOOOOD!

It wasn't any more than 5 minutes when I told someone about it. I had to share how I saw "the real thing".

The parts that make up the burger: beef, bread, cheese, bacon, mayo, mustard, ketchup, onions; only had to do two things..be and submit. They didn't have to do anything other than be within the burger maker's grasp, and submit to the burger maker to create whatever they wanted to out of the burger parts - in this case, a "bacon cheese champ burger". From doing those two things, came a product that exceeded my expectations, sparked me to share with someone else about my burger experience, and gave me hope that maybe I'll one day see another picturesque burger.

This may seem like a stretch, but our life with Christ is the same way. We have a picture, a goal, a model of "the Real Thing". The "Real Thing" being Christ Himself. So many times, the ones who bear the name of Christ don't match up with Him. I think a frequent cause for this situation is simply forgetfulness. We forget that we are walking advertisements for Christ.. all the time - whether we feel like it or not. The world sees Christians that simply don't look like Christ. And so comes another disappointment as they unwrap another follower of "the Real Thing" that's maybe even more messed up than they. It should not be this way!

So then, what do we do? Well, as odd as it may sound, we need to be like the burger in this case. We need to be with Christ. Daily. Moment by moment. In all situations. We need to be still, be holy, be faithful, and be patient. As we do that, we submit to whatever God wants. He is our Maker, He is molding us, shaping us, preparing a product for the world to see. As we then go out, the world will see a person that resembles Christ, "the Real Thing". And then, they will want to meet the Maker and be transformed as well.

So this week, let's be accurate representations of the Real God we serve. Let's be with Him. Remember that it's not you who live, but it's Christ that lives in you. Submit to Him and let Him make a product that gives the glory where it is due.. on "the Real Thing", Jesus Christ.