It Looks Real, But…

Today I’m sharing a guest post: This is something one of my very closest friends recently wrote, and it challenged me! Doug Andersen and I have partnered in ministry and friendship for over 20 years. He is the pastor of The Church on the Way Santa Clarita, a growing and effective congregation. He’s a great writer, thinker, and communicator…do yourself a favor and listen to one of his sermons online, or stop by the church if you’re in the area; you’ll be glad you did!

It Looks Real, But…
By Doug Andersen

I was about nine years old when my brother took me to my first car show. He and his wife were members of the local Jaguar Club who had rented the Warner Brother’s Back Lot in Burbank. I was excited for two reasons: I’ve always loved cars, and this was the place that they made TV shows.

I remember the overwhelming feeling as we rolled into the place (riding in their modest late 60’s XKE). The sun glaring off the paint and chrome, and the fresh smell of English leather was incredible. Some drivers rarely took their Jags out so instead they’d bring an Austin-Healey or an MG. I was a kid in a candy store. Then I realized my surroundings. We were on a park lawn in the middle of a neighborhood inside those ominous studio walls on Hollywood Way that we’d driven by hundreds of times before. And then I noticed the surrounding houses—I’d seen this before—on most every “Father Knows Best-style” show that currently ran. It was the location of Major Nelson’s house from I Dream of Jeanie and The Partridge Family lived just a couple of doors away. Wow! (Remember I was nine.)

After we perused the cars and examined every cad-plated bolt and zinc-plated tube we walked over to the houses. I remember looking in, and to my surprise—façades. Are you kidding me? It’s all fake? It looked so real on TV. I walked between the houses belonging to Dennis Mitchell and Mr. Wilson only to realize there was no back yard—only a parking lot. I felt in some strange way like I had seen a secret that none of my friends would ever believe—yet I remember the disappointment. I wanted it to be real!

In the book of Galatians we’re presented with a list referred to as the “Fruit of the Spirit” containing some characteristics that identify God. They’re love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This list, by the way, is not exhaustive, but it’s a fantastic springboard. We’re told that these should be present in us as Believers—they will become the factors that identify if we’re living under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as others see these characteristics in us, they’ll be pointed toward God. But what if they’re only a façade to us? What if we say we’re followers of Christ, and attempt to show the fruit of the Spirit, but what we’re actually presenting is fake? We can’t just act like we love others—we must actually love them. We can’t fake peace—we must allow the Lord to work it in us. We can’t live with counterfeit faithfulness. Those things will not fool the world around us—instead we’ll be fooling ourselves, leaving the world disappointed, and God’s purpose for us unfulfilled.

Let’s be shaped by the Spirit of God and produce authentic fruit.

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25