False Advertising

53/365

This past weekend my mother, a friend and I ventured to Birmingham, AL. The reason for our road trip was to take part in the annual Arts, Crafts and Gifts Festival. The event was held in the convention center in the heart of the city…aka…a BIG event. We were so excited. Lovers of crafts and antiques, this seemed right up our alley and totally worth the five-hour round trip commute.

All I can say now is FALSE! We arrived at the event only to be greeted with rows and rows of children’s clothes. The frickin’ thing was polluted with strollers, pregnant women and children’s Easter outfits. Now, there is nothing wrong with an event designed for new mothers and children, however, it should be advertised as such. For those of us who have no children, no children on the way or no grandchildren…this entire event was pointless.

We all felt, basically, misled. We were seduced into an idea that was never even there. We gave up our only free day of the week, spent a third of our time in the car and, in the end, was more upset with the lack of honesty than the lack of crafts.

Job 5:27
"We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself."

In a culture of deception and deceit, how do you know when someone is speaking the truth? Is the only solution blind trust, or, is there something to test against?

The Bible speaks of those who spent their lives testing the Lord, do we not do the same? Repeatedly, God will prove himself faithful in all circumstances. Slowly, our questions about Him and His abilities start to fade. This new certainty, this deliberate confidence, is based on experience and endurance. This experience, then, becomes Truth.

I feel confident in saying that any other religion that claims the peace and love that I know only to be found in Christ Jesus, is simply…False Advertising. It may be a great idea, but nothing more. Test it and you will see what it is really made of: ideas or Truth.