Theodore H Epp
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| Pic. Credit: sxc tattoedmi |
Jeweler—an expert—can tell them apart.
Many years ago when the X ray was
first discovered, a group of wealthy women were having a club meeting. They
wanted their entertainment to be both educational and constructive, so they invited
an outstanding scientist to speak to them and to demonstrate the new X-ray
machine. The scientist explained how X rays worked and what men could do with
them. Then, in order to demonstrate his machine, he asked several of the women
for permission to examine some of the diamonds and other precious stones they
were wearing. He told them that the X
rays would reveal whether or not their jewelry was genuine. Since these women were
all sure that their jewels were genuine, they agreed to the test.
In many cases he was able to assure these
well-dressed women that their jewels were real, but he also found some
imitations. Of course, the women with the imitations thought they had genuine stones.
No doubt their husbands also thought they were genuine when they bought them.
But they had been fooled. They had been cheated.
The women were humiliated; some became angry; a few even refused to believe the
evidence, though that did not alter the fact.
Perhaps you have seen a monkey that
acted very much like a man. He rode around on a bicycle, wore a police uniform
and did many other things that men do. But no matter how you looked at the
monkey, he was still a monkey. Doing things like a man did not make him a man. He
was still just a fake, mimic, a pretense or an imitation.
But then there is the genuine item. “Genuine”
comes from word whose root meaning is to be born.” For instances, because
you are born of your parents, you actually belong to them. You are a genuine, real
member of their family. There is no hypocrisy, no pretending about that. It is
all true.
The dictionary tells us that an imitation
is a copy of a pattern. It may look like the real thing, and it may seem to be
genuine, but it isn’t.
Are you an imitation or are you
genuine? Are you a fake, or are you the real thing? I’m referring to the fact
of being a Christian. God’s X ray, the Bible, will reveal it.
A Christian is a person who has
accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior; he has been born again. Some people
think that going to church and being good will make them Christians. But the Bible
teaches that good works done to earn salvation are just like filthy rags
(see Isa. 64:6).
Others think that patterning their
lives after Jesus and imitation His actions will change their lives; but God’s
Word says each person must be born from above by the Holy Spirit (See John.
3:3,7). We must confess our sin and ask Christ to forgive us and make us His
children.
If you haven’t had this experience,
you need to say, “Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. In know You died for my
sins. I now confess my sinful life and ask You to forgive me.” Then believe that He has forgiven you. He will if you ask and believe: “Him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts. 16:31).
You see, it requires more than imitating
Him. Alone, you can’t live like Christ. The Bible says, “He that saith he
abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (I John 2:6).
This is not possible unless He lives His life in you. So heed what He says:
“Behind, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev.3:20).
Are you a genuine Christian, or are
you just the church-going, Sunday school-going imitation? Are you a mimic? A fake? Or are you genuinely born from above?
Remember, God’s X rays reveal the truth. CL
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