Real or Fake?

At Calvary Chapel Sydney we have a Tuesday morning prayer meeting from 6 to 7:30am open to all who desire to attend.  After I started the coffee and sat down to read the Bible before the meeting, I looked towards the front door.  On a table near the entry sits a green, thriving plant.  I my experience, plants do not stay green on their own!  My best efforts to keep green things green and growing typically produce dismal results.  Over the past couple months I have seen different people from the church checking the condition of the plant, watering it, and clearing away the ants which on a daily basis find it again and again.

Taking care of the plant is no one's job and yet is a job always done.  As far as I know the care for this plant is not governed by sign-in sheets, a planned roster, or even word of mouth.  Amazingly this living plant looks a million times better than most of the plastic plants I have seen in churches or office buildings.  Because caring for a live plant is sometimes difficult or impossible because of lighting or other conditions, some purchase synthetic plants to add some greenery.  Synthetic plants, though they require less continual maintenance, involve a good deal of labor to occasionally wash the dust which firmly adheres to the silk petals and leaves.

It occurred to me that as both real plants and fake plants adorn buildings all over the world, people can choose to be real or fake when they enter a church building.  Some people seem to actually prefer a fake atmosphere, where everyone is fine and life is great.  This approach seems predictable and safe, has minimal upkeep, and no trimming or fertilizing required.  This is a life devoid of life and therefore devoid of love.  When people are real, that is when God and His people are free to serve each other.  There will be watering necessary, trimming, removal of dead foliage, and perhaps even have to deal with difficulties.  Ants are attracted to water because it has the power to sustain life.  The main difference between a real and fake plant is a real plant is alive, while the fake plant never was.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell the real from the fake.  I find it ironic that we rarely think fake plants are real upon close inspection, but people will scrutinize a real flower and say, "It's real?  It looks so fake!"  When a flower is gently touched, the cool softness betrays it as a living plant.  The fragrance also stimulates our senses to discern the truth.  It would be wrong for any person to judge the depth of someone else's spiritual walk because of his or her personality.  Some people are naturally more transparent than others, and this can be as much a strength or a fault.

The fact remains that there are real Christians who attend church, and also fake ones.  Judas appeared to the disciples to be above reproach though Satan had entered into him.  When Jesus said, "What you do, do quickly," John 13:29 tells us what was going on in all the disciple's minds:  "For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy those things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. "  They thought he was going to do a blessed service, when instead he was intent on the betrayal and murder of Christ!  Jesus was willing that all, even Judas, come to the knowledge of the truth and did not exclude him.  God has given us all an opportunity to be born again, and our new life is to spent cultivating this new life in others.  Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

If you notice something needs doing, it may be God wants you to do something about it!  Instead of complaining about the drama in our own lives or the lives of fellow believers, instead of growing weary from picking up dead leaves and clearing away ants, let us praise God for the life He has brought to our souls and to those in our fellowships.  Don't wait for someone to do what God has enabled and equipped you to do.  Can you water a plant?  Can you share Christ's love?  Can you reach out to those who are hurting?  By God's grace, yes we can!