But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how surreal everything around me seems. You can listen to a news anchor screaming something about the “other side” (I remember when news anchors had no “sides” at all—but there’s no such thing as fact-reporting anymore, sigh). But, in reality, what they’re shouting is exactly what their side is blatantly doing! And, like any good propaganda machine, if some lie or fabrication is repeated enough, it will become “true” and be believed by the masses. Then there’s the cultural redefinition of words to mean something completely different than they used to (which is part of a bigger-picture plan too). And there’s plenty of data on how social media algorithms are intentionally set to push a certain narrative. Oh, and now bourgeoning Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ramping up the potential for fake news, fake quotes, fake audio, and fake imagery that seems totally authentic. How do we know what’s really real?
Then there are the actual people walking around us. The need to resemble Instagram filters is truly astounding. Botox pushed to girls in their 20s, lip injections to the point of creating human Simpsons caricatures, stretched faces replicating eerie Joker-like grins. Name a body part, and there’s an implant for that. …fake cheeks, fake lips, fake breasts, fake calves. Of course, there’s the social media life—people presenting their life’s highlight reels, editing out 99.5% of actuality. People are terrified to be real.
So, where do I land on all this pondering? It would be so easy to do a deep dive into despair when looking around and listening to the cacophony of the culture. But God. See, as a believer, when I remember that this world is not my home (Philippians 3:20; John 17:14-15), the “reality” of the world comes clearly into view: It is not reality at all, but a mere shadow of what is true. All the things the world is chasing after (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—1 John 2:15-17) are like vapor. We know this because achieving that “must have” is never, ever enough. It just creates a need for more. Whether it’s a political agenda or another facial injection. It’s all fake and it’s all meaningless in the Big Reality of Truth. And that’s just the way the enemy of our soul wants it.
Satan, the ruler of this world, hates you and me. He only wants to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10a). He’s on the prowl, seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). He is the father of lies—the inventor of fake news—and there is literally no truth in him (John 8:44). So, the falseness, dishonesty, and deception constitute his reality! And without Holy Spirit clarity, it’s easy to believe what we see…and it’s easy to perceive the stench around us as a fragrant aroma.
Friend, we need to get real. We need to focus our eyes on the reality of God’s Kingdom and His sovereignty. There’s a battle raging in this shadowland, but the war has been won. And if you’ve been born of God (surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior), you have overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5). You have the Holy Spirit living in you to give the power to see through the fog. But this supervision is only available if you keep your eyes off the stuff of this world, focusing on God’s Word and surrendering to His will. When you do, an amazing thing happens: You’ll recognize the lies and deceptions more clearly and, more importantly, you’ll rest assured that this world is merely shadows. It’s such a relief not to have to figure everything out or live up to the world’s unrealistic expectations. Only things of God matter…and your desires and focus will shift to eternity—and making an eternal impact.
So, get real. And tell others how they can get real too.
Lord, keep my eyes on You and the victorious work of Jesus, so I can live in the real world.
encouraged by grace 