Counterfeits
            Counterfeits fill our lives, from counterfeit value to counterfeit joy. Security in our perceived destiny counterfeits the real security of God's plan for our lives, which, outside of discernment through God's Holy Spirit, is as obscure as the next moment.
            "What will happen after I finish this ______ (fill in the blank)?" You already know which TV show you'll watch after this one is over. In fact, you hold the remote control in a death-grip ... if you haven't preprogrammed your state-of-the-art home entertainment system.
            Your doctors' appointments are in you Smart Phone, as are your financial manager's and hair-dresser's appointments. In fact, your whole life is squared away, barring the unforeseen chicken pox outbreak. But you have a contingency plan already in place even for that.
            What if you were to loose your job? That'd be bad, alright, but that's why you pursued double majors and earned degrees in both, along with solid internships in both. And your savings will tide you over until you get up to speed in the new job.
            Heart attack? Nonsense! You eat right, exercise the right amount, keep up to date with your checkups and stress tests. And your doctor always says you have the health and conditioning of a person fifteen years your junior. Besides, your family is covered by your generous life insurance policy.
            You're nothing, if not a planner.
            In fact, you're so together that Jesus even mentioned you.

And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
(Luke 12:16-31 ESV)

            You may not be a prosperous farmer, but like him, you have all contingencies covered ... with counterfeit security. Unless, that is, you've already secured your eternal destiny through the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
            Did I hear you say that's covered as well? That you're a leader in your church? That you give generously? That you're influential in your community? That everyone says what a great person you are? You may be right, but Christianity can be counterfeited as well.

            Stay tuned.