When I was growing up in Beirut, my pastor used to give us the same illustration over and over again.
He would ask us if we knew how the Department of Treasury recognized a fake dollar.
He would then pause for a minute and deliver the punch line.
The secret that the Department of Treasury had to identify a fake dollar, he would say, was simple: they made it their mission to study the real thing. Then when they saw the fake, they easily recognized it.
They could tell the fake because they knew the real deal.
When it comes to our relationship with God, many of us claim to be Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. But are we really the real thing? And if we are, why are our lives so weak?
We say we believe God, but we live in constant fear.
We say we love people, but we can’t seem to stand the church.
We say that giving is essential, but few of us do it while people all around us suffer.
We say we believe in eternity, but our lives are focused on our plans for today.
We say that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, but our hands are hurting from holding on to our stuff so dearly.
We say that fullness of joy is ours, yet we walk around with glum and worried faces.
We say that hope is alive, but we look like the walking dead.
In a world that’s shaking, we’ve forgotten that Jesus is solid.
In a world that’s hurting, we’ve forgotten that Jesus is our healer.
In a world full of fakes, we’ve forgotten what is real.
In one week my book Resolved will launch. This is a book about what it means to be a real Christian. It’s a book about you. It’s a book for you. And it’s a book about all the people around you.
Over the past few months we’ve watched our country torn apart with the craziest political atmosphere imaginable. We’ve seen a steady moral decline in our nation. We’ve witnessed a global crisis of mammoth proportions expand before our very eyes with millions of people now looking for home.
It’s time for us who call ourselves Christians to wake up.
It’s time for us to resolve to live what we say we believe.
Our God is a God of resolve. He has resolved to love us without limit, to stay with us no matter what, and to give us everything we need to live an abundant life.
You and I have the real deal. We know the truth. We are the light in this world.
It’s time to get serious about it.
Let’s not waste our time focused on all the fakes out there and why they’re not the real deal. Let’s instead make it our mission to resolve to be real.
Life is not as complicated as we make it out to be. Jesus died for us and He lives for us. Now it’s time we wake up and live for Him with everything we’ve got.
When we live like we believe what we say we believe, and when we stand strong in the heat of the battle, that’s when we’ll change your world. That’s how we make a difference.
But it starts with resolve. Your resolve and mine.
I am resolved. Are you?