Only Pretending

There once was a young teenager who thought he could play high school baseball, even though he had never played organized baseball for a team before. On weekends and after school, he would play baseball with his friends at the local park. Against his friends, he was really good. He could catch, hit, and even pitch a little too.

Finally, in the spring of his sophomoe year of high school, with the encouragement of his friends, he tried out for his high school team. Can you guess what happened? Right...it was complete disaster. Even though he had a glove, it was much smaller than the ones the team used. During the tryout, he couldn't field even a single grounder. Even worse, when it was his time to bat, he didn't even come close to getting a hit. He struck out in three pitches.

How could this have happened? It was simple. Even though he had a hat, a glove, and a bat, we was just predending to be a real baseball player. He lacked the training and experience to ever play for a real team.

Sometimes, the followers of Jesus do the same thing. The pretend to be serious about their faith...they participate in Christian clubs like Younglife and FCA, they carry a Bible to church, they know the tunes to some of the worship songs, and they hang out with the right kids. But, all along they are just pretending to be something they are not...sold out follower of Jesus Christ.

This is nothing new. God's people in ancient times pretended as well. When caught in sin, they would pretend to be remorseful about having done wrong. It was ancient practice to tear one's clothes as a an outward sign of repentance that reflected the grief of the heart. But it was easy to pretend. To tear the clothes with really being sorry at all, God could see through it back then and He sees through it today. Notice what He tells His people in Joel 2:13.

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.  Joel 2:13

God wants His followers to truly repent in their hearts and not just pretend to be sorry.

Why do you think people pretend to be serious about Jesus when they are not? 

When is a time when you feel like you need to pretend?

Dear God, I don't want to just pretend to follow You. Help me to take my walk with you seriously and have a heart that glorifies You! In Jesus' name. Amen.