REAL is a word we hear almost every day. No one wants a fake. No one likes a phony. In today’s language we even have developed phrases that show our desire for authenticity: “Let me keep it REAL.”

But does the world really want REAL? Is the desire for authenticity… authentic? Let’s be honest. Most of the people we run into in this world are more concerned with outward appearance than who they really are inside. Often, what we see from people on the outside is not the REAL thing. Honesty is rare. Complete authenticity is almost extinct. In the online world it’s difficult to find people who really are who they say they are. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is really REAL anymore.

“Keeping it REAL” seems to be just a catchy phrase… a bunch of words without meaning. In actuality, the world has exchanged truth for a lie. The world seeks “temporary” things, while ignoring our eternal condition. In the Bible, in the beginning of the book of Romans, Paul describes people as “suppressing the truth with their wickedness.” Think about that. He describes people as pushing away the truth, exchanging it for a lie. How REAL is that?

What does it mean to be truly REAL in superficial world?

This week we will be talking about our REAL condition and the REAL pressures we feel every day. God provides something so REAL that we can’t ignore it… and it’s not found in religion or good deeds… it’s found in a relationship with Him. An authentic relationship with our creator changes us in a REAL way, a change that occurs from the inside out.

It doesn’t get any more REAL than that.