Be Real

All of Judea . . . went out to see and hear John. . . . His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. Mark 1:5-6

There’s a Trader Joe’s receipt sitting near my chair. Trader Joe’s is a chain of specialty food stores with a unique image.

The store’s circular appears to be pasted together by someone with very little graphic-design training. There are no color photos of big juicy hams to catch my eye.

The stores are similarly unmodern. No conveyor belts carry purchased items. Most checkers wear jeans and T-shirts (some are tie-dyed).

And the place is always packed with people. Normal people.

John the Baptist was a pretty weird guy for first-century Palestine, yet people were drawn to him, even the normal people who lived in Jerusalem.

Both are lessons in the power of authenticity. People were drawn to John, as they are to Trader Joe’s, because they could sense his genuineness.

How real are you, really?