The original formula was invented in the 1940’s and later revised in 1958. Who knew then that a soft drink recipe would change the world forever? From generation to generation, people have settled on their favorite soft drink. Mine is Mountain Dew. After ball games, after a hot day on the school bus, and at the end of band practice, I raided the refrigerator and snatched a cold Dew for myself. All I can say is….AMAZING! It was cool. It was refreshing. It was perfect.
After investing large amounts of resources to create a Mountain Dew that was “diet” friendly, a product was unveiled. Diet Mountain Dew. One word…..GROSS! Don’t look at me like that. You know exactly what I mean. Do you remember the first time you had a diet drink? You thought the same way I did. GROSS! It didn’t taste the same because it was not the same. There were different ingredients to mask the low calorie truth. It really wasn’t the same thing. But as weight, body shapes and belt sizes change, so do our tastes in soft drinks. Mine did also!
Nearly 60% of the human body consists of water, and I would imagine 60% of my body, from time to time, consists of Diet Mountain Dew. I love the Dew. There’s really nothing like it. Diet Dr. Pepper is a close second, but Diet Dew is simply indescribable. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night craving a cool one from the fridge. Not good. Caffeine content? Perfect. Flavor? Perfect. Authentic? Maybe not so much. You see, even a good imitation is still an imitation, a replacement, and artificial. The problem is that we sometimes accept the imitation and replace the authentic.
In John 15:2a, Jesus speaks of imitation. This imitation looks like the real thing, but it isn’t. Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit he takes away…) There are several things I think we need to ponder.
1. It is possible to be a Christian Pretender. Jesus said this branch looks like it is with Him, but bears no fruit. This branch was a pretender. They do the right things, say the right things, sing the right things, help the right people, go to the right church, go on mission trips, help in local missions, and even sponsor a child with an overseas mission organization. But, there is one thing missing. Authenticity.
2. A Christian Pretender cannot genuinely bear fruit because they are not truly connected to the vine. At first glance, they look like they are part of the vine, but upon closer inspection, no fruit equals no connection. Christ followers are created to bear fruit. Our lives are not senseless and directionless. Our lives were created to honor God, give glory to God, and display the characteristics found in Galatians 5:22-23.
3. Christian Pretenders will eventually be separated from those who are authentic. This will be an extremely difficult day. Pretenders will be revealed and removed.
The problem with pretending is that your character and reputation are not reflections from the same mirror. A person’s character is how God sees them. A person’s reputation is how people see them. When our character and reputation are both a reflection of God, real fruit is displayed. By the way, we can only reflect God when we have a personal relationship with Him through Christ.
Back to the Dew. As much as I love Diet Mountain Dew, I still recognize it as a Great Pretender, Fake, Imposter, Wanna Be drink. No matter how close it gets to the real thing, it will never be the real thing.
Challenge yourself. Are you the real thing, or are you just pretending?