The weird thing about stuffed toys is that the minute you give them a name, people start acting as if they were alive and asking silly questions like 'So how is No_bob?' Like, hello people, he's a stuffed toy. Therefore he is not real. Get over it. I have.

And so that got me thinking a bit. In some senses it must be pretty easy not being real. Because No_bob is not real he can't ever have a bad day (well the day he lost his eye came pretty close but it's more me that suffers because he can't feel it), he can never be hurt (although some savages at this camp I went on last year did their best in an attempted kidnapping and No_bob ended up a bit longer and with a few torn seams and a bit of dirt, but again he didn't feel a thing) and he can never be let down. He can never be dumped by a girlfriend, or suffer the breakdown of family relationships through divorce or abuse, or be hungry, or frightened, or lonely or sad.

So it would seem that not being real could actually be a pretty nice thing as it would keep you safe from all the dangers and heartaches that the world tends to throw at people. Safe, secure and protected... right?

Well in one sense perhaps, but as much as not being real keeps you safe, secure and protected from all the bad stuff in the world it also keeps you at a distance from all the good that is out there.

If you are not real then you can not experience happiness. If you're not real you can never know deep joy or satisfaction at having achieved something you have set your mind to. If you are not real you can never love... or be loved. You can never know the awesome privilege of having friends who look after you and really care about you and are there for you when things are hard or join with you in being excited when things are going well. So as much as you may be sheltered from all the bad things that may come your way in life, you will also be kept from living. Because there is no living for something that is not real. There is just existence, and it's really not the same.

Above all though, if you are not real then you can never know the awesome love and acceptance and grace and forgiveness that comes from knowing and being in relationship with God. And that would be missing out bigtime.

Now you're probably thinking to yourself that all this information is all good and well when it comes to the world of stuffed animal toys, but what relevance does it have for me? And I'm glad you asked that question. You didn't? Well then I'm glad I asked that question.

There are so many areas in life where people, especially young people although I think everyone does it to differing extents, are not real. It often comes about when someone has been hurt or disappointed in life or in a person (maybe in a parent who has been absent or a relationship with someone that fell to pieces) that they decide to shut themselves off from being real so as not to get hurt again. And it works! Well to an extent. You build walls around yourself and keep people from getting to know you and find out who you really are and from getting close enough to hurt you again. But at the same time, those walls that were designed to keep you safe from people who may hurt you, also end up keeping out those people who want to show you love and friendship. You may think you've saved yourself from being hurt when all you've really done is ensured that you will be lonely and alone and hurting...

Right from the very beginning God said "it is not right for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for Him." [Genesis 2:18] because He created us for relationship. Relationship with Himself as well as relationship with other people. The two greatest commandments God gives us deal with loving Him and loving people.

Another way in which we are really good at not being real is by fitting in with the ways of the world which is constantly telling you to look like someone else, earn like someone else, achieve like someone else � just look at the advertising world � never be content to be yourself but fit in with the crowd, wear the labels other people are wearing, drive the right car.

But again, God has something different to say: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to know what God's will is � His good, pleasing and perfect will." [Romans 12:2]

The thing we need to realise is that because of sin in the world, 'real' has been distorted. And so when God wants us to be real that doesn't just mean be who we are now, but rather be who He intended us to be. God does not want us to just fit in with the world and the way everyone else does things and think that that is okay. He has got a far better life in store for us that is in actual fact more real than anything the world can tempt us with.

So I want to challenge and encourage you that if you are someone who has been hurt before by people or situations and know that you have created walls around yourself to keep others out and keep yourself protected � take a chance and let God help you to break down those walls and start letting people in gradually (I'm not saying just let anyone in to the most intimate of levels as that would not be wise but you start letting people in and as they show they can be trusted so you open up a bit more and so on). And on top of that, in terms of who you are as a person, how you dress, what you spend your time doing, what you spend your money on... all these different areas, be aware of who is dictating who/what you are like. Are you being real in terms of what God wants for your life or are you trying to be something you're not?

Keep it real... and if it's not then make it so.

God bless you
brett FISH anderson

www.brettfish.com