The Real Deal

“Grandad, I would like something to remember you by. Something personal I could have. It doesn’t have to be anything particular.” I said. “Well, what do you have in mind?” he replied. ” I don’t; know a personal item. Maybe something with sentimental value.” “O.K. Let’s go to my room. I think I may have something somewhere.” He headed toward his nightstand and slowly opened the top drawer. There I saw a gleaming gold watch which I reached in and picked up for closer examination.

As I took a closer look, my initial enthusiasm started to wane. I noticed the broken clasp, there was some discoloration on the links, and most noticeably, the watch face seemed fake. Although the watch marking indicated it was an Omega, it looked more like a counterfeit. Regardless, I was into watches and asked him for it, and he gave it to me.

The watch sat in a tray with many other inexpensive watches for years. Then almost twenty years later, I thought it would be a good idea to use as a prop for a talk I gave on counterfeits. However, after the talk, I took a closer look at the watch. Unlike other times, this time, instead of just looking at the face, I started to look closely at other details. “If this is a counterfeit, they did a good job.” I thought to myself.

Unsettled by the possibility it might be real deal, I set off to have it evaluated by an expert watch repairman. “Here’s the watch. What do you think?” I asked Ruben. He then took his tools and went to work. As he peered at the various components, he hummed and then abruptly said., “Yep, it’s real. The face was poorly refurbished, but here’s the serial number, the authentic watchmaker stamps, and I can also tell you the movement number. If you can get the appropriate watch face, I can replace it and restore this watch.” I agreed and gave him the watch.

A couple of weeks later, Ruben returned the watch fully restored and now looking and working as it should have so long ago. It was a great tribute to my grandfather and a reminder of how we should live our life. When Christ redeemed and restored us, he gave us a new “heart,” a restored “heart.” Unfortunately, however, many of us walk around living a counterfeit life. We put on a “face” that doesn’t belong to us and is not representative of our true selves. As a result, we don’t fulfill our purpose.

Like the watch,  it’s time we started living according to our true identity and fulfilling our purpose. We need to replace the fake with the real and honor Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Daily Directive:

Answer and Journal the Following

Read:

Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Pray:

Pray for God to remove any counterfeit parts in your life and replace with what’s real according to His word.

Meditate / Make It Real:

Contemplate and meditate on or memorize the passage. What is God saying to you? Then, determine what you will do with what you’ve learned.

Share / Show:

Share and show what you’ve learned with someone else.