BY STEPHEN CHAVEZ
he line between fantasy and reality has never been fuzzier than in the past few years; thanks to all the "reality TV" hybrids out there, and the never ending "spinning" and "packaging" that goes on in the public and private sector. Opponents of Tim LaHaye and J. K. Rowling have unwittingly added to the confusion by treating Nicolae Carpathia and Harry Potter as real characters in the controversy between good and evil, rather than just colorful inventions of someone's imagination.
For many, what happens in the pages of an entertainment magazine, in television prime time, on the big screen at the local cineplex, or in the athletic arena named for a corporate sponsor is more real than what happens in their daily lives.
But in fact, those things are merely diversions. Reality is what happens between the time we get up in the morning and when we go to sleep at night. Even though no one's likely to turn the story of our lives into a Hollywood miniseries, that doesn't mean that what we do, and the way we do it, isn't real.
Sometimes, I fear, we get the impression that our lives are insignificant if we aren't followed around by a film crew or if we don't have plaques and awards lining our walls to chronicle our achievements.
Jesus' earthly ministry was God's attempt to beat back the imaginary world of appearances, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions of the day with a healthy dose of reality. While the religious teachers of the day debated what constituted "work" and how far they could walk on the Sabbath, Jesus used the Sabbath to do good. While they developed a false value system based on spiritual arrogance and exclusivity, Jesus described and modeled a fellowship based on humility and inclusiveness. While they constructed a fantasy about the kingdom to be set up by the coming Messiah, Jesus reflected God's character to a population that had largely forgotten the reality of God's love and acceptance.
In our day the line between fantasy and reality needn't be blurred. Reality is a parent forgoing a promotion because it would rob him or her of time to spend with the family. Reality is someone caring for a spouse who can no longer care for himself or herself-or worse, who doesn't recognize the caregiver, even though they've been married for decades. Reality is a family including others-perhaps singles-in their family gatherings and activities. Reality is someone regularly volunteering at a community agency to demonstrate something of God's compassion and concern. Reality happens when a congregation steps out of its comfort zone to minister in a coordinated and concerted way to those in its community who are at risk of physical and spiritual ruin.
The question most people are asking today is not "Is it right?" but "Is it real?" "Does it work?" A theoretical religious experience may be biblically defensible, but does it make us better people, really? Are we more like Christ? Or do we more closely resemble the pretenders who parade across the media landscape fostering fantasies of all shapes and sizes?
The ultimate reality in life is knowing that whatever we do for others is the same as doing it for Christ (Matt. 25:40). A well-balanced Christian life makes real (or irrelevant) the sometimes-hard-to-grasp theological nuances that so many religious people wrangle over. No amount of orthodoxy will compensate for a life that is not real, genuine, authentic.
A relationship with Christ is the only antidote for the phony posturing to which so many are prone. The Bible warns us, "By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matt. 7:16).* And our prayers should always include the invitation: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Ps. 139:23, 24).
The people who grab the most headlines aren't necessarily the ones who make the most lasting contributions to God's kingdom. And those who accomplish the most for Christ and His kingdom may never, in this life, receive the recognition they deserve. But what we do for others in Christ's name will last in eternity on a monument that says "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:40).
Welcome to reality.
*Scripture texts is this editorial are quoted from the New International Version.
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Steven Chavez is managing editor of the Adventist Review.
