Smoke and Mirrors

The other night I was flipping through the unending number of channels on my television and came across the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz – I had to stop and watch.  Dorothy and the crew had just survived the face to face encounter with the wicked witch and had returned to the Wizard to receive their sought after gifts.   I always get anxious for this part of the movie becuase it contains one of the funniest lines in movie history (according to me).  The traveling team and toto are scared to death as they are facing this giant mirage of the wizard with puffs of smoke, fire, noise, and booming voice.  The Wizard shouts at the wandering souls and tells them that he cannot help them and they should go away!  The humans are frightened, dejected, and unsure of what to do next… uncertainty and panic set in.  Then to the resuce… toto runs over to a booth with a curtain on it and pulls the curtain back to reveal a rather impish man working a complicated contraption.  The man looks surprised and continues his performance and has the wizard boom out these words: “Nevermind that man behind the curtain!”

I get a great laugh out of that scene everytime I see it.

There’s something larger at play here though.  If we aren’t careful, we can get caught up in the smoke and mirrors that people put in front of themselves to intimidate and control others.  We encounter these people in our lives and can feel somewhat suffocated, controlled, and without option once we get into their presence.  If we only had a TOTO around that was courageous enough to run into the face of adversity and pull the curtains back so we can see that it’s only impish little people putting on a facade.

Living Bold is pulling back the curtains to expose the truth around you.

When your life is filled with the confidence of Christ, you begin to see the world through a different lens.  The things that used to control you, suddenly become quite transparent and unattractive.  The false bravado of the wizards in life just become annoying and trite.  Christ within you then begins to change your heart, your mind, and your life in such a way that you become confident that no man will be your master… Christ alone fills that spot.

When I look at life through the filters of Christ, I do see wizards everywhere.  I am somewhat empathetic toward the tiny little people behind the curtains who work tirelessly to carry on their show and I pray that they find the confidence in Christ to be who He created them to be.  I used to be quite affected by wizards, somewhat in awe and fearful that if I didn’t respond they would do something to me that was irreversible.  But Christ changed me to focus on Him alone.  The confidence of Living Bold comes directly from the knowledge that Christ is my Lord and no one or nothing else can fill that place.

I encourage you to find the confidence in Christ and become who he created you to be.  If you are hiding behind the curtain trying to convince others of your power and might through false bravado and stage tricks, renew your life in Christ.  Allow Him to create in you the real power and might that comes through transformation of loving God with all you are.  If you are being controlled by someone or something that seems to have instilled fear within you, focus on Christ Jesus and regain your own strength to stand up and draw a line in the sand.

The single most important thing you can do is to understand that Christ Jesus is the ultimate power.  You are part of His dominion when you subject yourself to His teachings and His ways.  Understand that following Jesus Christ is as simple as loving God with all that you are, and loving others as yourself.  The real transformation takes place when you give of yourself to others.

Peace,
Greg Arnold
Acts 4:31

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.