What is real in this world? We have fake diamonds, fake fur. We have fake profiles on Facebook and Instagram. Fake nails, fake hair…this list can go on and on. But when you strip it all back, bare, and naked, what is real? The contrast is great! The dichotomy of this world, what our society worships and what is actually real—it almost takes my breath away!

Pick up any magazine, turn on any music video, listen to the mouthpieces from Hollywood and you will come away with the undeniable fact that this world is lost in the darkness of our own creation! We know the truth deep inside our hearts, but our obstinate sinful nature has rebelled against the God who created us. We have chosen to worship before the throne of celebrity, worshipping the athlete, the model, the actor, instead of falling prostrate before the God of the universe. We are like moths to a flame, desperate to reverence their lives, even when their own lives are burned to ashes!

John 3: 19-21, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

The contrast between this world and its values, and the values of God’s people are striking. It reminds me of a racoon, his paw wrapped around a shiny bobble. But the racoon can’t pull his paw out of the trap, without opening his paw and dropping that shiny object. So enraged he will fight to hold on to the bobble, no matter the evidence shown to him. So it is with this world; the evidence that God exists is overwhelming. We just don’t want to be bothered with that truth! We have exchanged the truth in order to support the lies that we have created. We know that we are God’s creation-male and female-but because we are so consumed with our own evil desires, we have traded all God has made for us, in order to hold on to a shiny bobble—that is going to eventually destroy us!

Yet, we do have hope! Our hope is in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made on our behalf at the cross! “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19) “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7)

I implore you dear friend, drop the shiny bobble! Let go of the things of this world, and return to the throne of the all-powerful God who created you! In Him is true hope, true love, true forgiveness, and true contentment. We were created by God, for relationship with God. Nothing this world can offer you can compare with the riches in Christ Jesus. No profile—No possession—No prestige—all will be stripped away and laid at the foot of Jesus someday. And then we will all know what is truly real.