Have you ever taken the time to think about exactly how many short video clips you view on average per day? I’ve never considered exactly how many I’ve watched, but I have thought a time or two about how many were worth watching. It has to be that well over 80% of the clips I’ve seen, I could’ve done without. Probably, 10% of that 80%, took years off my life. Obviously, I’m being a bit facetious, but from YouTube to Vine to GIF, my life has been a bit over saturated with useless visuals that don’t matter much.
You know how it works. Watch this video of Hillary Clinton falling over and over. If you don’t like that, here is a little boy saying, "Lebron James" in a southern accent over and over and over again. And for you, fashion enthusiast...Look at Daniel. He’s back at it again with those Vans. I don’t want to say it is garbage, but I heard somebody else saying it was and I think I agree.
However, to the credit of every self-broadcast media platform that is feeling a bit disrespected right now, there is that 20% or so that is definitely useful, informative, and at times...enlightening.
YouTube and all the other video hubs like it have made the world a smaller place, so we can see people doing extraordinary things that we probably would not have known about otherwise. I’ve just seen a video of a young kid who was self-motivated enough to convince his brother and some friends to go around cutting people's grass for free. No strings attached. It was purely out of the kindness of his heart. Then there was another of a girl who rode roller-blades better than I walk in shoes. The way she maneuvered in and out of the obstacle cones looked like it was an altered video. It was nothing short of unreal.
People love seeing that kind of stuff. I love seeing that kind of stuff! We love seeing people do things we previously thought was impossible or “unreal”; which makes you realize this is probably why people are so drawn to Jesus, 2000 years after His life on Earth. He was the King of the Unreal. This guy walked on water and multiplied food. Imagine getting a Vine of that! I could watch that 100 times in one sitting.
But have you ever noticed people are not as drawn to the Church. I mean, people go to church and all that. There are churches all over the place, but we are not jumping up and down for it like we are for Jesus. Is the Church not “unreal” enough for us? After all, it is not uncommon to hear people say, “Yes, I follow Jesus, but I don’t believe I need church”. I often think that is a little like someone saying, “Yeah, I’m about my education, but I don’t go to any schools”. Technically, it could work, but it’s probably not the best idea for 99% of people. Besides, it’s hard to explain why you have never been to school on a job application.
I think church is more “unreal” than people give it credit for. What other place in the history of the world has saved more marriages, transformed more violent men, comforted more lonely souls, and steered more kids away from teen pregnancy and criminal activity. It is not broadcasted as much nowadays, but if you look throughout history, it is the church. The church is an unreal place to people that are looking for more than that quick awe-inspiring moment. You can say it helps us go beyond watching short clips of Jesus, to going to meet Him and hoping to become good friends. Every child's dream come true, right?
Colossians 1:18 says the church is His Body. When was the last time you felt complimented when someone said you have a cute face, but your body is jacked up?