GENUINE?

I drive by a large, stately building now and then. It has always caught my eye because it is so striking and important-looking. I’ve thought it would be an interesting place to visit.

One day I was in the neighborhood and looked ahead to see the beautiful building. But there was something different about it. I realized that the sides of the building were metal. Like a warehouse. What I saw were plain outside walls that looked as if a strong wind might could blow them down!

So from the front I got one impression, and from the side a completely different one. I felt tricked!

Are we sometimes like that? We can easily portray one aspect of ourselves that people see. But could there be another side that may be unattractive and even unreliable?

After getting over my disappointment about the building, I decided that maybe the people who owned it couldn’t afford to make the whole thing beautiful and stately. Their money would only go so far, so they used it on the front, probably thinking that was the most important part.

But which part of the building would be important if a storm with a strong wind came along? To survive it, all the sides of it would have to be reinforced, and not just with metal.

As Christians, we need to be “reinforced” so we will represent Christ all the time! God wants us to be seen as all-around, genuine people who are striving to follow Christ all the time.

What do you “present” when people see you? What if someone saw you when you weren’t expecting them? What “side” of you might they encounter?

The amazing thing is that God, our loving Father, is always available to us and will help us if we ask Him. He promises that.

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us . . . ” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV)