The Real Thing

One of the most recognizable brands world-wide is Coca-Cola! Marketing studies showed that Americans responded immediately to the familiar Coke logo and/or unique bottle style favorably indicating that the cola beverage and good times are linked in the sub-conscious of most people. Why is that? Lots of reasons contribute to this but primarily these results come from great marketing and a consistent product. Only once did Coca-Cola falter; in 1985, when the company introduced 'the new' Coke, which was re-formulated to taste more like the rival cola beverage, Pepsi. Coke did so, because in blind taste tests, cola drinkers did prefer the Pepsi taste over the Coke taste. Strangely, in taste tests where the label was visible, the results were reversed! Apparently, consumers had such loyalty to the brand name that they 'ignored' the data that their taste buds were sending to their brains.

In 2005, the word "Christian" does not stir up warm feelings of approval in the minds of many people! Instead when the word, 'Christian' is tested, the results show that others feel some level of hostility and perceive us as intolerant. For those reasons, I don't self-identify as a "Christian" anymore. Instead, if asked my religious faith, I say, 'follower of Jesus.' Too often, Christians are better identified by what they oppose than for what they support.

Jesus said that love was to be our trademark! He said, "They (the world at large) will know that you are my followers because of your love for each other!" In the first generations of the Church, compassion came to be THE image of a Christian. Every where that Christianity spread, works of compassion followed. Christians cared for orphans, stood up for the weak, fed the hungry, and cared for the sick. They had no cathedrals, no celebrity endorsements, and no political clout. Yet they increased in number by the thousands until the mighty Roman Empire took note of them and attempted to eliminate the new 'sect' by persecution. But, even under this pressure, Christianity flourished and the love that erased the lines between social classes, males and females, rich and poor in the Church continued to be the trademarkof those who followed Jesus!

Paul underlined the importance of the unity of love in the Church, writing to the Galatians: "You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NLT) Of course, there were phonies in those churches, people who joined up without experiencing the transformational love of Christ in their own life. There were those who came to the 'love feasts' of the Church just looking for a free meal. But the pressure that was brought to bear on the followers of Christ Jesus by society and the government was intense enough that most of the fakes didn't last long. Only those whose faith was 'the real thing' stayed on.

Christian, are you 'the real thing?'
Is your life bearing the mark of Jesus in front of people with whom you work and live in a way that is building a strong favorable impression of who He is and what He does in the lives of those who love and serve Him?

Please do not read this TFTD as a call to abandon all standards that are unacceptable to the general public. Jesus also told those who followed Him that just as He was hated, they would be hated. If simply 'being liked' is our goal, we can gradually eliminate all objectionable parts of the Bible's message until we are left with a bland faith that threatens nothing and no one. That's not our aim! We are to be committed to the Truth and ready to die for Christ's cause. However, we are also commanded to 'speak the truth in love.' It is simply incompatible with the spirit of Christ Jesus to launch our verbal grenades at sin IF we are unwilling to become a part of the solution to those sins. Love compels us to give our lives to make a difference. We defeat sin and evil by overcoming it with good! (Romans 12:21)

Make your aim to be known for 'the real thing' - the love of Jesus Christ. Pray that the holiness to which you are called is not twisted into a self-righteousness, which is an ugly parody of true godliness. Let Christ's love permeate your being, that you are so full of His grace, that you are known as being one of the people that love- which will lead others to praise your Lord.

If we are filled with Divine Love, we will still oppose sin but we be known for our ministry to human need that sin brings. For example; let's be known more for helping AIDS patients than hating homosexuality. Let's be known for helping men and women build great marriages more than for hating divorce. Let's be known more for helping those who have lost hope find their way to the Light than for making it clear that 'they have made their own bed and they can now sleep in it!'

May the love we have for Jesus and each other become the trademark once again that causes the world to see us as 'the real thing.'