Faux or Real…

Keith Pate

Today there are many faux items out there that have become increasingly popular. There are faux paint finishes made to look like marble, stone or wood, faux wood flooring, faux furs, and faux plants that look amazingly natural. All of these are still imitations of what is “real.” They are fakes; artificial representations of something else.

Recently, I was relaxing in my chair at home when Mei Li, our cat, jumped in my lap. I cuddled her closely as she purred heartily and with resounding conviction. As I held her tightly, I could feel her body vibrate as she purred incessantly. The purr seemed to originate not just from the throat but deep within her. When I faux purr, it is mainly produced through a fluttering of my tongue in my mouth. I am not a cat, so my purr is a cheap imitation of what comes naturally to Mei Li.

I am a TCM (Turner Classic Movie) fan. Recently, an old Lana Turner movie entitled Imitation of Life was featured. The movie was released in the 1959. Lana Turner plays Lora Meredith, a widowed, struggling actress with a small daughter. She connects with character, Annie Johnson, (played by Juanita Moore) who is an African American woman with a bi-racial daughter. They combine households and Annie evolves into the role of maid.  Lana Turner’s character becomes a wildly successful actress with all the worldly trappings that entails. The two daughters have various difficulties growing up in a privileged home in this complex movie plot. Annie is the only one who truly lives her life; a life of service that far exceeds her employment as a maid to Lora Meredith. At the close of the movie you discover all the characters are not really enjoying a full and meaningful life but have selfishly sought pleasure, fame and fortune as cheap substitutes for what is genuine. They have bought Satan’s lie regarding success; chasing a faux dream. Annie (the only overtly Christian character) gets it, and enjoys a life that positively impacts hundreds of people, as witnessed in the final funeral scene of the movie…her entire life devoted to serving other people.

Colossians 2:6-10 (NLT) reminds us.

“6 As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. 7 Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.

8 Be careful that no one changes your mind and faith by much learning and big sounding ideas. Those things are what men dream up. They are always trying to make new religions. These leave out Christ. 9 For Christ is not only God-like, He is God in human flesh. 10 When you have Christ, you are complete. He is the head over all leaders and powers”

Completeness and contentment comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ, living a life that is Christ centered and outwardly focused. All other paths are faux…fakes, cheap imitations, or artificial substitutes that end in emptiness.

Keith

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FOCUSED

One of the casualties of aging to which I find myself a victim is the dimming of the eyes.  Ecclesiastes 12 counsels the young person to remember God, their Creator, in their youth before the aging process takes over and various faculties, as listed in verses 1-7, are diminished.

Clear eyesight when we are young may be something we take for granted. However, as we age the realization that our vision is not as sharp as it once was takes hold. “Readers” become standard fare for all intricate tasks. Our once keen laser sharp focus is now blurry and in need of help to restore its youthfulness. That restoration is found through glasses or some sort of rejuvenating surgery. Especially in the early stages of this degenerative eye problem we may be able to fake it and get by, but eventually we must relent and do something to correct the problem.

There is a parallel between physical and spiritual vision. “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” was written in the early 20th century. The hymn writer, Helen Lemmel, was strongly influenced by the artist and later little-known missionary, Lilias Trotter. Miss Trotter started off as an aspiring artist but early on felt a call from God to reach the lost. She began her ministry by rescuing prostitutes from the streets of London. Later she went to Africa, without missionary funding, and served for over forty years. While there she penned a poem that would greatly influence the writing of the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”  The poem was entitled “Focused: A Story and Song.” 

The poem centers around focusing one’s attentions fully and completely upon God. She writes that Satan knows that if a person uses all their powers of concentration on being led by God’s Spirit, they will have a great intensity and impact upon those to whom they are called to minister. Lilias Trotter, writing in a more formal use of the English language than we are accustomed, shares some timeless insights which could very easily have been written today but with a different accent. She writes: “Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen good harmless worlds at once—art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the ‘good’ hiding the ‘best’ even more effectually than it could be hidden downright frivolity with its smothered heartache at its own emptiness.”

The “good” hiding the “best” leads us to emptiness.  Could this be true of us today especially as American Christians? Have we sought the “good” while missing the “best”? The chorus of the hymn, which we will be singing in worship this Sunday, says it best.

                Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,                                                                                                                                        And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Keith Pate

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