More Appearances of Reality

To spy out the reality hidden in appearances takes perseverance. Virginia Stem Owens

The sacred is often lost in the growing shadow of the secular which grows, in part, as we pursue the appearance of a ‘thing’ rather than the reality of a ‘thing’.

· As Mary Jane obsesses on the skin-deep-perfection of Hollywood she increasingly is unable to see what is beautiful about her self. (The appearance is that the Hollywood crowd has it together, the reality is the more she thinks upon it she shortchanges her self.)
· As Billy Joe climbs up the corporate ladder he finds it more and more difficult to define himself as a person rather than a position. (The appearance is that success at work will bring happiness, the reality is power and position cannot provide it.)
· I have no idea why these examples need to have a first and middle name. I’m not really from the South. You’ll just have to deal with it.

The secular likes to make us think that the real world, the one we see, hear, feel, touch and taste is all there is. But that’s only a half truth and as one philosopher said, "The problem with half-truths is the other half." I’m not sure of John Mayer’s spiritual inclination but in his song, No Such Thing, he says, “I just found out there’s no such thing as a real world, it’s just a lie you’ve got to rise above.” Rising above is hard. It’s easier to believe the appearance. It's quicker... there seems less distraction. But character is forged in searching and maybe even more... Maybe even glory is forged in the search. A wise man once said in Scripture, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

Is your life about the ‘glory of kings’? Or is it more just making it through one more day. Look beyond appearances.

Is your life about 'glory' or about something a tad less dramatic like, what's playing on the growth avoidance mechanism (t.v.) tonight? Search beyond the here and now.

The reality is so much more but it's hidden.

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:17

rennovare, j