An Honest Picture

An Honest Picture
Polaroid pictures have been and are continuing to make a comeback. They are “trendy” and provide this new generation with an experience that is not known to them. Children who are growing up in an ever increasingly digital world. With the advent of AI (artificial intelligence) there is some question as to how that will affect art, photos, and much more. So, why the Polaroid?

Most of us are probably familiar with Polaroid cameras. You point, shoot, and out pops the photo. After a minute or two you have a developed picture in your hands. What is captivating about the Polaroid, and why I think it has lasting relevance, is because it is honest. If you move or blink when the photo is taken, then it comes out with you blurred or with closed eyes. You’re left with a simply honest photo, rather than snapping 26 in 3 seconds on your Iphone. 

Every moment is not perfect. Reality is not truly seen on people's Facebook photos or Instagram reels. A Polaroid picture may not always turn out pretty, but it will capture an honest moment. In a similar fashion, the Preacher in Ecclesiastes gives us an honest picture of life. Ecclesiastes 12 paints a vivid picture of the demise of the body with age. While it may not be a fun or beautiful picture, it is honest. Thus the conclusion of the Preacher is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecc. 12:13).

As followers of Christ, we are to be a people concerned about truth. We are to live in reality, and not in delusion or fantasy. Part of reality is reckoning with death and the demise of the body. When we have an honest picture of life there is a freedom and sobriety that is God given. When we remember that death may come at any moment, and it is in God’s sovereign timing, then I am free to live for Him each day. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, so I am encouraged to make much of Him today. 

Perhaps you have some old Polaroid pictures in a box or in a scrapbook. If you dig them out I’m certain that you will find honest pictures among them. Let these things encourage you and remind you that while each day is not perfect, it is still a day that the Lord has made. Let us make much of today for the glory of God. May we leverage all that the Lord has entrusted to us for His glory today. Let us worship Him with joy and not wait until tomorrow. Let us make much of Jesus Christ today, and every day that we are given.

Grace be with you,
C. R. Hamilton