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Be Real
The following is an
excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams:
Don’t be upset
little rabbit. I’ve seen them come and I’ve seen them go. Nothing but clockwork
and tic-toc. Figure all that wind-up stuff makes them real. But nobody’s gonna love
them. Yet it’s love that makes you real.
The skinned horse had
lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his coat was bald
in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been
pulled out to string necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of
mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger and, by-and-by, break their mainsprings and
pass away. He knew they were only toys.
“Real,” said the skinned horse, “it’s not how
you are made—it’s something that happens to you
when somebody loves you. Not just to play with, but really loves you. Then
you become real. Sometimes it hurts, cause being real isn’t always easy. It
doesn’t happen all at once either; it takes a long time. And that’s why it
doesn’t happen to toys that break easily, or have sharp edges or have to be kept in a
box. Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your
eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints. You get
downright shabby. But these things don’t matter at all because once you are
real, why, you can’t be made ugly except by the people who don’t
understand.”
It is Hard to Love
That Which Makes Pretense
Jesus is Now Real
Romans 12:3
- Jesus becomes real to us when we love him and realize that he loves
us.
- We become real to each other when we love one another.
It is the love that gets us to drop the
pretense.
Not Just to Play
With
Try God
- Many people try God, but few actually love him.
Matthew 24:12
They still have
the pretense because they do not realize that God really loves them.
- We have many playmates, but those we love are few.
Not All at Once
Love Takes Time
- Concerning Jesus—it took a very long time.
He first had to be revealed to man by
God.
- Concerning ourselves—it takes a very long time.
The Fragile
It does not happen to
people who break easily.
We do not want to get too close to those
who are so fragile they may break.
- Those who wear their heart on their shirt sleeve.
- Those who faint at any disagreement.
- Those who are offended at the least little thing.
Hard And Sharp
It does not happen to
people who have sharp edges.
We do not want to get
too close to those who may damage us just by being with them.
- Those who are critical and judgmental.
- Those who are without discipline.
- Those who lack knowledge.
Self-righteous
It does not happen to
people who have to be kept in a box.
We do not
want to get too close to those who are self-righteous.
- Those who are too good to admit a problem.
- Those who are above us in all things.
- Those who cannot get their clothes dirty.
The Effects of Love
Wear And Tear
By the time you are
real:
- Most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and
you get loose in the joints. You get downright shabby.
You are well used.
You have been much
appreciated.
By the time Jesus is
real to us he has been:
- Rejected
- Blasphemed
- Beaten
- Crowned with thorns
- Crucified
- Died
- Buried
But these things do not matter at all
because once you are real, why, you cannot be made ugly except by people who do not
understand.
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