THE REAL PICTURE

11-12-06

Over a beautiful salmon dinner at my daughter’s house Friday night, Naomi whispered into her son’s ear and he scurried into the bedroom to find a surprise for Nana. To my delight, he reappeared with a picture frame and in it, the smiling so grown-up-looking face of his school picture.

Wow. How does that happen? His hair is long and the curls seemed piled up on top of his head. His hands are folded on his lap and the red and white striped shirt and white collar look so crisp. He’s sitting so tall in the white cane chair and his smile looks so much older than I’ve seen.

Oh my goodness, he looks about six years old already, but he’s just turned four, I exclaimed. Seeing that picture made me realize that time is leaping into the future and this little boy seems half grown already.

Well, something about the way I was carrying on must have seemed ridiculous to him.

With both hands tapping his own chest he said, “Nana, this is the REAL Judah.” And then pointing at the picture frame as though he were teaching a class, he said dramatically, “That’s the fake Judah. See? This one has his mouth open. This one is moving. That one can’t.” And then his expression looked so puzzled and amazed, as though he were waiting for the light bulb to go on in my head. Don’t you get it?

His theatrical voice and cute expressions just made it funnier. I guess what he was trying to ask was, why get so excited about a frozen picture of me when the REAL ME is standing right here? Was he jealous?

I wonder if the Lord feels that way about how we treat him sometimes. We make a fuss over some memory of something he’s done years before and we ignore or miss out on the REAL LIVING JESUS of today! Maybe we settle for a lifeless picture from the past and don’t even recognize his presence or know his voice or understand his moving lips at all? What portrait do I see?

Wouldn’t Jesus want to put his hands on his hips and correct us too? THIS is the real me. See my mouth is open? Do you hear my words? See me moving here in this situation? See me at work in your life? Hey kids, don’t be consumed with fake images. Don’t miss the real picture.

God is alive and yet we treat him like a lifeless thing.

Don’t insult the living God.

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Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt have no graven images. I AM the Lord your God. I am a jealous God. - Exodus 20