Our purpose is to reflect the image of God in us and no other, and to live as people who authentically love and are loved. God defines our true identity as his created and loved image, and then calls us to live out that identity in community for the whole world.
Indeed, Scripture tells us over and over again that God does his best work through those whom the rest of the world wouldn't give 15 seconds of attention, let alone 15 minutes of fame: people like this poetic little shepherd, a bunch of working class fishermen and a host of sinners like us. It's through the weakest and least likely that God's glory is able to shine brightest. As Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians, "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God."
Appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart. The only image that matters is God's image in us.
Few, if any, of us will ever be famous to the rest of the world, but we are all famous to God. It's God's picture of us that is the most clearly focused and long-lasting. May we be people who skip the bling and, instead, strive to be the picture he created us to be.
