real vs. fake

For the past couple of years, I have worn a fake pair of diamond earrings. I thought that they looked a little bit like the real thing. In fact, a few people have even asked me if they were real, and I have always told them the truth. Recently, I inherited my grandmother's real diamond earrings that are about the same size as the fakes. As I held up the real ones to the fake ones, I could see that they were incomparable.

That got me thinking about our Christian lives. With nothing to compare our lives to, no one can see that some of us are living a fake Christian life. It's only when we get a closer look at people do we see the gross difference between real vs. fake.

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ...." (Phil. 1:27) That verse kept ringing in my head. Whatever happens. If we try to conduct ourselves in a real and genuine way, no one will accuse us of being fake.