The Real Thing
As I sat on my living room floor in front of the fireplace all snuggled up in a blanket, the words to this famous Christmas song could not have been more perfectly relevant:
Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
I sipped on a mug of hot cocoa and watched the thick gray winter sky drop ice flakes that coated the roads with a layer to make driving anywhere nearly impossible. We kept a fire going in our fireplace constantly through the ice storm, and I spent every spare moment sitting in front of it. We played games in front of it, watched movies in front of it, and ate dinner in front of it.
And it's the real-deal kind of fireplace. It's not the TV screen type that puts out fake heat, nor is it the kind with the perfectly placed (yet entirely fake) yule logs that, like Moses' bush, catch fire but never burn up. No, this is a real fire place with a real fire in it - the kind that you can roast marshmallows in, the kind that kicks out logs and leaves tiny black burn marks on the carpet, the kind that could burn your house down. And that's why I think I love it so much. There's nothing quite like the real thing.
And then there's our real Christmas tree that we picked out this year. Just this evening, I was sitting by the tree and enjoying it thoroughly, asking myself why I like this tree better than all the others. All my life I have had a fake tree, and there is nothing that compares to having the real thing - the kind that you have to water everyday, the kind that brings spiders into the house, the kind that fills the house with the smell of wild pine. That's why I love it so much. There's just nothing quite like the real thing.
At a party I attended this week, I had a cup of hot apple cider made from Arkansas-grown organic apples. Let me just say - it was the best cider I have ever tasted. Compared to the powder packets, this cider tasted like real spiced baked apples in a cup. Once again, that's why I loved it so much...because there's just nothing quite like the real thing.
It's the same with following Jesus. There's nothing quite like the real thing. Jesus taught his disciples in the parable of the weeds that this world has two camps: the wheat and the weeds. You can read it for yourself in Matthew 13:24-43, but basically Jesus says that the world is a field. Jesus plants the wheat, which are the people who are authentic followers of Him. Then, the enemy (Satan) plants weeds in the field, which are the people who are not authentic followers of Jesus. The thing is, the weeds look so much like the wheat that they cannot be separated until the harvest, which is the end of time or judgement day.
In other words, Jesus teaches that some people are the real thing and some aren't. And it can be hard to tell the difference. Maybe that's why there is so much confusion about what a real Christian looks like.
The point of the parable is not to make us question whether we are wheat or a weed. When we give our hearts and lives over to Christ, our salvation is absolutely secure in Him and cannot be snatched away. The enemy wants us to worry about whether we are the wheat or the weeds because then we will get all caught up in doing enough to make sure we feel "good enough" to be classified as wheat. We then fall into thinking that we might just earn our way to wheat status if we do more for God or become better people. We get distracted by good works and miss the point entirely.
I don't think Jesus' point was to make us doubt if we are the real thing. He just wanted us to be the real thing.
Being the real thing comes from knowing the real thing, namely the real person of Jesus Christ. It's not about how much you know of Him, but how much you actually know Him. It is only when He becomes real to you that you can be really His.
Even though it may be hard to tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds, if you look closely enough, you will be able to tell. The authentic Christian, the real follower of Jesus is the kind that tastes like real apples compared to a powder packet. The real thing is the kind that has to be watered every day with the Word of God. The real thing drops pine needles wherever it goes and fills the atmosphere with a pleasant, fresh, wild aroma that lingers on your hair and clothes. The real thing is the kind that blows sparks and leaves burn marks. It could potentially even burn your whole house down, just to show you that what you have been living for has no value compared to knowing Christ.
So be wheat. Be the real thing. Be single-minded and whole-hearted for Christ. Claim your heart as completely undivided for Him. Be sold-out entirely and authentically. Because there's nothing quite like the real thing.
Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
I sipped on a mug of hot cocoa and watched the thick gray winter sky drop ice flakes that coated the roads with a layer to make driving anywhere nearly impossible. We kept a fire going in our fireplace constantly through the ice storm, and I spent every spare moment sitting in front of it. We played games in front of it, watched movies in front of it, and ate dinner in front of it.
And it's the real-deal kind of fireplace. It's not the TV screen type that puts out fake heat, nor is it the kind with the perfectly placed (yet entirely fake) yule logs that, like Moses' bush, catch fire but never burn up. No, this is a real fire place with a real fire in it - the kind that you can roast marshmallows in, the kind that kicks out logs and leaves tiny black burn marks on the carpet, the kind that could burn your house down. And that's why I think I love it so much. There's nothing quite like the real thing.
And then there's our real Christmas tree that we picked out this year. Just this evening, I was sitting by the tree and enjoying it thoroughly, asking myself why I like this tree better than all the others. All my life I have had a fake tree, and there is nothing that compares to having the real thing - the kind that you have to water everyday, the kind that brings spiders into the house, the kind that fills the house with the smell of wild pine. That's why I love it so much. There's just nothing quite like the real thing.
At a party I attended this week, I had a cup of hot apple cider made from Arkansas-grown organic apples. Let me just say - it was the best cider I have ever tasted. Compared to the powder packets, this cider tasted like real spiced baked apples in a cup. Once again, that's why I loved it so much...because there's just nothing quite like the real thing.
It's the same with following Jesus. There's nothing quite like the real thing. Jesus taught his disciples in the parable of the weeds that this world has two camps: the wheat and the weeds. You can read it for yourself in Matthew 13:24-43, but basically Jesus says that the world is a field. Jesus plants the wheat, which are the people who are authentic followers of Him. Then, the enemy (Satan) plants weeds in the field, which are the people who are not authentic followers of Jesus. The thing is, the weeds look so much like the wheat that they cannot be separated until the harvest, which is the end of time or judgement day.
In other words, Jesus teaches that some people are the real thing and some aren't. And it can be hard to tell the difference. Maybe that's why there is so much confusion about what a real Christian looks like.
The point of the parable is not to make us question whether we are wheat or a weed. When we give our hearts and lives over to Christ, our salvation is absolutely secure in Him and cannot be snatched away. The enemy wants us to worry about whether we are the wheat or the weeds because then we will get all caught up in doing enough to make sure we feel "good enough" to be classified as wheat. We then fall into thinking that we might just earn our way to wheat status if we do more for God or become better people. We get distracted by good works and miss the point entirely.
I don't think Jesus' point was to make us doubt if we are the real thing. He just wanted us to be the real thing.
Being the real thing comes from knowing the real thing, namely the real person of Jesus Christ. It's not about how much you know of Him, but how much you actually know Him. It is only when He becomes real to you that you can be really His.
Even though it may be hard to tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds, if you look closely enough, you will be able to tell. The authentic Christian, the real follower of Jesus is the kind that tastes like real apples compared to a powder packet. The real thing is the kind that has to be watered every day with the Word of God. The real thing drops pine needles wherever it goes and fills the atmosphere with a pleasant, fresh, wild aroma that lingers on your hair and clothes. The real thing is the kind that blows sparks and leaves burn marks. It could potentially even burn your whole house down, just to show you that what you have been living for has no value compared to knowing Christ.
So be wheat. Be the real thing. Be single-minded and whole-hearted for Christ. Claim your heart as completely undivided for Him. Be sold-out entirely and authentically. Because there's nothing quite like the real thing.
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