Authenticity

When my two oldest daughters were little girls, the dolls became available.
Dolls that came with their own set of books.
Dolls that represented a specific time period.
Dolls that helped you learn history.

Aptly named, the American Girl Doll catalog came to our mailbox a few times each year.
My girls would peruse the catalog and turn down the corner of the pages they liked.
True to their personalities, they each liked different dolls.
True to their personalities, the dolls they liked seemed to fit them.

My oldest daughter liked Samantha, the doll from the Edwardian era, circa 1904.
My younger daughter liked Kirsten, the doll from the pioneer days, circa 1854.
One Christmas, at the prime age for dolls, they each received their doll as a gift.
History came alive in their play and in their imagination.

We never went crazy with doll clothes and accessories.
To be honest, it was too expensive to possibly keep up with each new thing.
Everything was kept to a minimum; their imagination had to do the rest.
The series of books were favorites of ours and were read with enjoyment.

We soon learned about a store that was in New York City.
It had floors and floors of American Girl dolls and accessories.
There was even a doll hospital where you could send your doll for repair.
Your doll would be sent back to you with a hospital gown and a get-well balloon.

It was not a place I ever visited until I had my third daughter.
She had one of the dolls as well, one which fit her personality.
Her doll was Molly, the Depression era doll who happened to wear glasses just like her.
My youngest daughter and I took a trip to New York to visit the store.

We went on a tour bus, which dropped us off right outside.
I never saw anything like it.
People were leaving the store with multiple shopping bags filled with accessories.
My daughter was allowed to choose only one thing that she could bring home.

My second daughter had decided years ago that she wanted to style her doll’s hair.
The Kirsten doll had braids that my daughter unraveled.
The hair was impossible to brush and the more she tried, the more it stuck out.
Kirsten’s blond hair was unmanageable and unable to be re-styled.

I decided to use the doll hospital to re-braid Kirsten’s wild hair.
Perhaps, they could make her look like she did before.
My younger daughter was excited to leave her sister’s doll at the doll hospital.
It had been years since it had been played with, but it was worth the effort to repair.

Another shopper asked me about our repair, but it soon became obvious.
She gave me a warning.
Make sure you get the same head back and that the label says “Pleasant Company.”
She pointed to a place under the hairline that had the company’s name.

The woman explained that the company had been sold.
Mattel bought Pleasant Company and the newer dolls are not worth as much.
I was surely not a collector, nor did I have any desire to sell our dolls.
However, her information was filed away since my girls had the original dolls.

My youngest daughter watched as we “admitted” the doll into the doll hospital.
There were admittance forms to fill out.
We could choose to buy a wheelchair for our doll, which of course, I declined.
You will braid THIS head of hair and I WILL get the same head back, I firmly stated.

Oh, absolutely, the woman assured me as she shuffled through the forms.
I learned that the company was sold and since we have an original doll…I began.
Oh, don’t worry about a thing; we will fix her up like new.
We left the Kirsten doll, the one described as having strength and spirit.

Weeks later, a large box was delivered to our house.
Our doll had come back from the hospital, looking as she did before, with beautiful braids.
I turned the doll over to look at the hairline and saw the word: Mattel.
They gave us a new head; the original head was lost forever.

I felt betrayed.
I expected one thing and got another.

It was like the day my oldest daughter fooled me.
It was on a day when we had a lot of errands to do.
She was fumbling for something in the car as she sat next to me in the front seat.
She found what she was looking for and held it out in her hand.

Mom, look at this old coin.
I thought I saw something shiny on the floor.
I looked and saw that it was indeed an old coin.
It was worn and seemingly rare.

My mind was racing as to how the coin could have gotten on the floor of my car.
We could have received this rare coin by accident, I thought.
It could have been given to us as part of our change, I concluded.
She held the coin out in her hand.

Oh my, we will have to take care of this, I said in my mother’s voice.
I wonder if we could find out the history of this coin?
She began to giggle.
It’s not real, Mom; It’s Samantha’s.

It belonged to her Edwardian doll, named Samantha.
I remembered that the doll came with a coin tucked inside a velvet purse.
The coin looked so real.
However, what I thought was authentic was really fake.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:1-4)

Authentic faith acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and is from God.
Real faith always points towards Jesus.
The spirit of antichrist is the spirit of an imposter.
Fake faith always points away from Jesus.

Sometimes, like the seemingly rare coin, fake faith looks quite real.
Sometimes, like the different marking under the doll’s hairline, what looks real is not.
There are marks of authentic faith.
J.C. Ryle aptly stated them in a list.

A Christian does not love sin. (1 John 3:9, 5:18)
A Christian believes in Christ as his only Savior. (1 John 5:1)
A Christian practices God’s commandments. (1 John 2:29)
A Christian has a special love for other believers. (1 John 3:14)
A Christian does not love the world. (1 John 5:4)
A Christian is growing in Christian discipleship. (1 John 5:18)

We want authentic faith.
Authentic faith with real joy so that an unbelieving world will see.
The marks of a true Christian are different.
Authentic faith will always point towards Jesus.

Test yourself.
Is your faith real?
Does your faith point to Jesus?
That is the kind of faith the world desperately needs to see.