What is real?

In this day and age, it is hard for me to determine what is real and what is fake. Life is getting too fast and too technologically advanced. Here are a couple of examples where the "real or fake" question pops in my head.

Have you ever looked at any juice labels lately? One might read something like this: "Made with real fruit juice." I wish I didn't have to be told that what I'm drinking is real or 100% natural. Shouldn't I expect everything to be made with real ingredients? Sometimes they cost too much money though. So instead, I must consume chemicals that taste like real ingredients. Are drinks real or fake?

Another example in my life deals with advertisements. I'm told that fast food is made fresh, that cars can prevent crashes automatically, and that my insurance agent magically appears if I sing a jingle. Obviously I don't believe everything I hear during a commercial. I just wonder if any of what I hear is true. It's scary how commercials manipulate our brains. For example, complete this jingle: Five dollar, five dollar ___________. Are commercials real or fake?

Also, music these days is tricking my mind. When I listen to the radio, I always ask myself, "Is that his or her real voice, or is that autotune I hear? I wish more artists would stop manipulating their voices. I can't even tell what notes are humanly possible to sing anymore. Is music real or fake?

Here's the big question. Is God real or fake? It is very easy for me to say God is not real. I've never seen God. Nobody has ever taken a picture of heaven for me to see. If God was real, why does He let war occur? The arguments could go on and on.

The reason I know God is real is because I can feel His spirit. If you don't believe that I can feel his spirit, consider this scenario. Let's say someone comes up to me and asks,
           "How do you know your parents love you?"

My first answer would simply be,
          "They've told me they love me."

Let's say the person follows up by asking,
          "How do you know they aren't lying?"

My answer would be,
           "Because I can feel their love daily."

God is a lot like love. You can't explain it. You just have to believe that it exists. You have to share it with others and seek it for yourself.

The song for the week deals with believing. Hopefully we can all believe that God exists somehow in our lives. The lyrics "don't stop believin', hold on to that feelin" remind me to never stop believing in God and to always feel his love. Happy New Year everybody!