We began with these questions about Facebook.
What does Facebook tell others about who you are?
Do you learn a lot about people from checking out their Facebook?
Is this information about you something you value?
Facebook is a social networking site that gives us the opportunity to tell the world who we are and to learn about others. However, the information on facebook isn't necessarily a reflection of our heart. We can sometimes put up information that is meant to impress others rather than to show who we really are. Facebook only gives a surface level picture and sometimes a false one.
Saul was a man in the Bible whose facebook would be one you would look at and say - this is a man of the law. He really knows the Word. Saul was a very religious man who held strong to his convictions. Others would look at Saul with admiration for how he lived. However, when Saul met Christ, Saul began to struggle with who he was. On the outside, he had it down pat. He followed all the rules. He probably had the entire Old Testament memorized, but there was something missing in Saul's life.
- This is kind of like the information we put up on Facebook. What people read as our interests or the pictures that we are in will tell people what we believe and how we think. We might say our religious views are Christian. We might say that we really like to listen to Justin Beiber. People will generate an opinion of who you are based on what is on the outside.
Saul didn’t realize that Jesus was the Messiah that he and the rest of the Jewish people had been waiting for. Saul denied that Jesus was the Messiah and even killed Christian for claiming that to be true. Saul couldn't see that Jesus was the Messiah, so Jesus humbled him by blinding him.
After this experience, Saul now realized that the Messiah was here. He stopped living only by the law and began to enter into relationship with Christ. He became a true disciple and a rock of the early church. Saul was given the name Paul which means small or humble. Paul was humbled by his encounter with Christ and his identity became Christ’s identity and not his own. He began to live what he believed in because he experienced it.
The point is that there are many things in the world that shape who we are. The movies we watch, the music we listen to, the people we hang out with, our families, etc. Christ knows who we are, because he planted in each one of us an identity since before time began. We were created in his image (Gen 1:26-27). Some of us are really quiet, others are crazy. Some really like sports and others are into art. Some are great listeners and others are great speakers. Whatever gifts we are given are gifts that God can use to reveal his identity in us. We can begin to live what we believe like Paul did when we allow ourselves to let God open our eyes to who He is.
My prayer for you this week is that you would have a genuine experience of God's love in your life and that you can begin to live what you believe in. Have a great week!
