These days, image is everything. When we post a photo on social media, the tendency is to go the extra mile to make our lives look more exciting.
Let’s face it, social media is the place to sell a dream. The thought of uploading a photo that is not the most flattering, taken in the best angle with the most appealing filter is unimaginable. For some, the 57 flawless “night out” pictures on Facebook are sometimes more important than the night itself.
We are aware that our external image says something about us and we want people to think highly of us. We have this urge to belong and to fit in.
The same goes for adverts. Companies all acknowledge how effective advertising it is. Nonetheless through experience, we have learned that some products do not perform exactly as it says on the box. We do not experience the same jubilation as the people in the advert seem to when we finally buy the product.
So we start to grow cynical and doubtful (and with good reason) that what we are shown and told is actually the truth.
So, what about God?
So what is your impression of God and how did you get this impression?
All these images and impressions which we carry with us are a huge obstacle when we are told to believe in God, who is our Father, perfect in every way. We may think to ourselves – this is just another story with only disappointment in store for me.
The Psalmist says:
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
(Psalm 34:8)
What have we tasted? What has God revealed about His essential nature?
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
(1 John 4:16)
Allow Him to whisper the truth in your heart, that which you have been wanting to hear for all your life.
That you are wanted, that you are loved, that you are desired, that you are relevant, that you are important, that you are special, that you are lovable, that you are likable.