He's A Fake! From the Mouth of Babes!

She is a beautiful five year old girl with long curly hair and lovely dark brown eyes. She took the stage with the rest of the kids to sing their Christmas songs during our recent programs to celebrate the birth of Christ. She played her kazoo perfectly with all the others as they played We Wish You A Merry Christmas as their encore presentation for us. Then she came down and sat in one of the two front pews reserved for the kids with their teachers. She watched as the teens presented their program and sang songs and played instruments as their tribute to Christ. When they were finished it was my turn to bring the Christmas message to the people. I had chosen to portray a Bible character in order to present the message in a different format.

I attempted to portray Luke the evangelist, gospel writer, and beloved physician. I did extensive research on the good doctor and apostle in order to be as realistic as possible as what Dr. Luke may have been like. I listened to lots of videos of people speaking in Koine Greek to try to mimic the accent and pronunciation of words. I researched the history to get some idea of what Dr. Luke may have worn for his attire. I then did a lot of study of his writings, when he wrote, who he wrote to, why he wrote, how God used him to pen the words of the gospel on the parchment. I researched the history of the accounts of his birth of Christ. I studied the traditions the Jewish people followed when having to travel to the city of their heritage to be counted and pay taxes to Rome. I studied about stables and how they were used and what types of them there were. I put a lot of time, prayer, and research into portraying the best Luke I could and to ensure when I told the Christmas story it would be scripturally accurate and as historically true as possible. I stepped into the rear entrance of the sanctuary greeting the folks with my best attempt in the Greek accent and walked to the front of the sanctuary in my robe and sandals and my headband, carrying my scroll from which I would read the prophecy of Isaiah of the virgin birth. She watched closely and listened intently when I made my way over to where all the children were sitting. She then told one of her teachers, “He’s a fake! That’s the preacher! Look at his shoes! Why is he wearing those shoes?!”

From the mouth of babes Jesus said would come forth sincere worship and truth. She was right. I was a fake. I never thought of it that way. When Luke was introduced to the people she expected to see Luke not her regular old preacher dressed up and wearing funny looking shoes. I think her comments struck a spiritual nerve within me that forces me to be honest with myself. The adults knew what I was doing but she was not told that the pastor would be playing like he was Luke. I was so moved by her comments because it tells me that she knows me; yeah, me! She may be five but she knows her pastor; what a wonderful compliment to know that I have succeeded in my attempt to relate to the children by spending time talking to them in their classes and always greeting them when they enter the church. It melts my heart to know that she counts me as her preacher. That carries with it big responsibility. If she was disappointed that Luke was a fake how much more disappointed would she be if I turned out to be a fake? We forget sometimes that our “portrayal” of men and women of God is being watched and believed by little eyes. May the Lord help us not to let them down. May we ever be constantly aware that they see us as who we say we are. God forbid that they ever grow up and say to someone; he’s a fake. Did you know that the word hypocrite means “a stage actor?” Wow! Thank you little (Jane Doe) for teaching me a great lesson Sunday morning!