M-G: 5.24.13 // Being Real, not Virtual

This morning I went to a news website, and an advertisement caught my eye. This company was interested in “helping leading companies explore new places in new ways.”  That is what consulting companies are supposed to do if they are worth their salt, but that is not what really got my attention. The phrase, “turning virtual into real and skeptics into believers,” is what snagged me.

Someone has rightly said, “We are the only Jesus people will ever see, thus, the urgency to be Christ-like in all that we say and do (Col 3:17; 1 Cor 10:31). Let me give you some verses regarding this, arranged in NT order (Remember, all you have to do is move the cursor over a selected verse, and a window will pop up. If it doesn’t, refresh the page on your web browser toolbar): Mt 5:48; Rom 6:4; 8:29; 1 Cor 11:1; 2 Cor 2:14; 3:18; Gal 3:27; 4:19; Eph 4:11-12, 13, 22-24; 5:1-2; Php 2:5; 1 Pet 2:21; 1 Jn 2:6; 3:7.

In the mind of God, the Bible is real, as real as it gets because it is His self-revelation of Yahweh (YHWH); His name points to His self-existence and eternality. The Bible doesn’t attempt to prove the existence of God which would be as ludicrous as you and me trying to prove to others that we exist. Yes, God is Spirit or invisible that is true, and we are quite visible, but the Invisible went visible with the historical Jesus born of a virgin named Mary; the Gospels testify that He was an actual Person and dwelt among men. And more importantly, He was Yahweh (Heb 1:3; Jn 1:1; 10:30-33)! 

By faith we embrace the written record of God revealing Himself to man as reality, believing that the Word (Logos) of God is the authority in all matters of faith and practice, but the world, lacking saving faith, doesn’t see it that way (1 Cor 2:14). For them the Bible is nothing more than a book written by man, nothing but another published philosophy. So they do not put much stock in it for that reason as well as others, like the supernatural stuff, for example, creation in six days, miracles of healing, walking on water, raising from the dead, and so forth; it’s all virtual to them like some computer game, a virtual reality that obviously doesn’t exist, but it can be played and be entertaining. We see the world's opinion of the Bible as being virtual by considering it allegorical rather than something real.

This is where we as believers come into the picture. God is commissioning all believers to take the “virtual” Christ of Scripture, for that is all He is to an unbelieving world, and make Him real to the skeptic, not in our own strength but in His (Php 4:13; Jn 15:5), “turning skeptics into believers.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can show the world that there is “more than just living and dying and trying to make it through the day” as one songwriter sang. There is more to this life.

We are Christ consultants to prove to the world that there is a better place to explore (heaven), a new way to go (Jesus, Jn 14:6) in conducting the business of living in the here and now that the world cannot compete against (cf. Jn 10:10; 1 Cor 2:9; cf. Mk 8:36). Will we convince everyone? No, but we may win some who buy into seeing the reality and credibility of our faith in Christ by our walk because our desire is to be like Him in all things. In this manner, the world can see virtual turned into reality.  They still may not come to the Truth, but they cannot accuse us of being a forgery or a fake.

If we are not Christlike in our walk, being good ambassadors for Christ, the world will never see anything more than a virtual Christ in us, like they see in the Bible, rather than a real and living Christ in our hearts (Jn 14:20; 17:21; 2 Cor 4:10, 11; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Eph 3:17; Col 1:27; Rev 3:20)! Let me clarify something here. You and I can no more save anyone by our ability than we can tell a blind man to see anything. Our testimony can be a powerful tool, but the conviction of sin is the work of God, not us. We are called simply to be a witness (Acts 1:8), a real and genuine witness to the Truth, not a virtual one, to make known to all “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27).

If we proclaim to be the real deal and our Christian lifestyle is nothing but a virtual one, the world will point the finger right at us and accuse us of hypocrisy (being unreal, fake, not genuine). No wonder that phrase “turning virtual into real and skeptics into believers” snagged me; I got hit right between the eyes! Wouldn’t we rather have God point that out to us than someone else? But I would rather prefer to catch the error of my way and correct my way of thinking and living before the Lord brings it to my attention (1 Cor 11:31). I think being real, not virtual, is always best for us and the world. <><