I meet lots of folks who say that they are looking for God. That is a good thing. Paul said that God made every kind of person to seek Him and find Him even though God is not far from anyone (Acts 17:26-28).

Paul also said that the things that God created point to His eternal power and deity (Rom. 1:20). This means that tools made from creation by human artistry can also point us to God. Paper and ink, radio waves, television cables and computer Internets can all point to God – especially when they reproduce God’s revelation.

But each of these tools can artfully represent reality so convincingly that we can fall in love with the image instead of the real. This is a bad thing. Our spiritual warfare is against speculation and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God as we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (II Cor 10:6). It is alarming how many of these folks who say that they are looking for God seem very satisfied to settle for the artificial image rather than the reality.

In fact, it is alarming to see how often this can happen in us Christians.

It is so easy for the sensations of vibration in a song to be so associated with the words to that song that I rob myself of singing.

Sounding out the print of a text can come to substitute for an understanding of the message in the text.

Hearing a reproduction of a sermon can be almost the same as hearing it live – which can come to seem as important as meditating on its thoughts, applying its truths to real life and sharing them with others.

The televised broadcast can seem like being present for worship and can seem as productive as teaching one another in songs, praying together, sharing with the local assembly’s Lord’s Supper, contributing to Christ’s authorized work – all the ways that real Christians consider how to stimulate one another to love good deeds as we assemble with fellow saints (Heb. 10:24-25).

The emailed power-point presentation can ring the bells and blow the whistles just like "in person" and can seem as dynamic as serving needy saints or sinners "in person."

The chat room can allow quick words to be read like sitting at a kitchen table beside another soul to "win an argument" and can seem as productive as helping in a search of God with open Bibles and open hearts.

Virtual seems so real.

Now, let us not forget that sometimes the virtual can lead to the real. Media can convey message. Art can be used for the actual. There is a God revealed in creation. Love of God can find Him through texts, sound, sight, software, and instant messaging. Love of those created in the image of the God whom we love can be served through print, tapes, videos, programs, and chat.

We also know, however, that "Knowledge makes arrogant (‘puffs up’), but love edifies (‘builds up’)" (I Cor. 8:1b). Knowing the experience of things associated with God is not the same as experiencing God’s love through all He provides, including His revealed will. One is hallow and sterile, the other is nutritious and fertile.

This is not only a problem for the "Internet addict," the radio believer, the video worshipper, and the bookstore saint. It can be a problem for any of us when we imagine that the media is the message and enjoy the pleasure of human religious fantasy feasts apart from true spirituality.

When Paul said that he did not want the Christians in Corinth to be ignorant of "the spiritual" in regard to special gifts, he quickly noted how different Christianity is from their past image worship (I Cor. 12:1-3). While they used to fall in love with the experience of the "medium," they now knew better. True "spirituality" means living the loving, true message of God’s mediation and giving full attention to doing what we can "for the common good" by His grace as members of His body (I Cor. 12:4-13:13).

True satisfaction comes as we lovingly live with God and neighbors just like Jesus did – even though we do so only imperfectly until the resurrection (I Jn. 1:5-2:2). This is how true spiritual peace and confidence is found. Our confession of Jesus as Son of God is tied to love, with God living in us and us in God to produce confidence for the day of judgment as we live in this world as Jesus is and let God’s love throw out fear (I Jn. 4:15-21). That is profound.

Of course, this requires that we really love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as our self (Matt. 22:34-40) in real life (Lk. 10:25-37). This means real risk. This means trusting God by being baptized into Christ so that our old self is crucified with Christ (Rom. 6) and "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). That is scary.

Lots of folks are not looking for this much reality in their religion – even us Christians sometimes. The painful reality which we Christians face since sin corrupted life requires joyful suffering and tempts us to "make believe" religion. But only real faith works in the real world.

Other images of "Christianity" can seem "virtually" the same, but virtually is not the same as really.

Let us get real.