Facing Reality

One of the marks of a mature individual is their ability to face reality.We do not expect this of children, who have legitimate fears and appropriate imaginations. Adults help younger people learn to sort out what is real and what is make- believe. We can evaluate our level of maturity by our ability to identify and face reality.

There is a level of mystery and make-believe that should be a part of our life journey. Creativity comes out of that kind of thinking. So much of what we appreciate today is the result of people believing there is more to be experienced than what exists today. Consider medical advances, space exploration and technological abilities that are realities today but were only dreams – if that – a century ago.

One of my childhood friends had dreams of visiting the planet Venus. He drew pictures that wowed me with how the spaceship would be designed and how it would launch. His imagination seemed far from reality, but the concepts have become an actual part of life today.

Many once faced the painful consequences of polio, smallpox, and other serious diseases; and there were people who dreamed of how to find a cure. Coupled with study, experimentation, and determination, they gave us amazing remedies. I am humbled to know that the medical team controlling my cancer is also involved in research to find a cure.

We could think that all of this suggests we can live in a world of make-believe combined with diligence and everything will be wonderful, eventually. But along with all of these amazing developments comes the reality that some things require hope for a remedy beyond what humans can discover. Medications and therapists may help, but none can repair a broken relationship or bring back a loved one from death.

Our greatest problem is our broken relationship with Creator God. The first humans, Adam and Eve, listened to the counterfeit god, Satan, and their very real and personal connection with the Creator was damaged beyond human repair. No human will ever find the remedy for that problem. But Jesus, Who Himself is God, offers that Hope. He conquered the problem of sin and offered humans His remedy – “believe Me and trust Me.”

We must move beyond our dreams and make-believe to face the reality that we can never repair what sin broke. The reality is that Jesus has taken care of the problem already and we need to trust Him. We need to “believe in our heart and say with our mouth that Jesus is God, my Savior” (Romans 10:9-10). At that point, the dream of hope is no longer childish make-believe but mature hope – a reality we can enjoy with confidence.

pastor@woodvillagebaptist.org

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