Have you ever heard the saying the "perception is reality?" So much of my being just wants to shout out..."NO!" After all, there is so much more to reality than what someones perceives from the externals we observe. For example, recently the San Francisco 49ers had a new football quarterback step in for their injured starter. He was dynamic and amazingly, this rookie had immediate success, and he became the 'next big thing.' The quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was soon thereafter ripped in many media outlets because of the poor example he was judged to be for kids because he is covered in tattoos. The perception was that this guy is a product of the 'thug life' or at the least, is yet another young man who is glorifying gangs.
Perception was not reality. When a reporter asked him about these things, he removed his shirt to show off his "criminal tats" and what the media discovered was a young man who has chosen body art as a way to express his faith in God. His tattoos feature passes of scripture that are particularly meaningful to him as he follow Jesus in his life journey. Sometimes what is real, is so much more than what we perceive about another.
This week we finish the 7th Chapter of Mark and conclude Jesus's address on clean and unclean, inside and outside. Sadly too much of the world, especially the places where the gospel has yet to be firmly planted, believes in a perception of what a "Christian" is, and that can stand in the way of seeing Jesus. As Pastor Greg challenged us last week, if we can be centered on Jesus – as the core of our world view, both personally and as his Church - than Jesus will be known. Then increasingly, others will see Jesus in place of the "traditions of men;" they will perceive the reality of Jesus in and through us.
To His Glory,
Scott White
Interim Executive Pastor of Ministry