All The Proof You Need

A sign can tell you what something is worth. Helpful in a supermarket. Problematic in our homes or schools or faith communities or the lunchroom at work.

People expend an enormous amount of energy trying to conjure signs that prove their worth and value to others and the world, things like success, fortune, achievement, popularity, rightness, money, power, possessions, esteem, media sanctioned (non)beauty…  

We think that all these signs prove a valid human experience, which means we're deserving of love belonging. We do the same to others: "Show me your proof of value?" we ask as we scroll Instagram, read Twitter, watch someone walk into a room… we take image, presence, physicality, and more, as signs of value.

Sometimes it can feel like all the world is demanding: Show me what you're worth!

So maybe you have learned to disguise your imperfections and capitalise on your strengths. You’ve built a practice around revealing only what you think is proof of value and you keep everything else hidden. You try to manipulate your life so that it seems like you're having a 'valid human experience' (whatever that is) deserving of love and belonging. 

You behave all grown up so people will take you seriously.
But Jesus said: "Have faith like a child." (Matt 18:3). 

You want to be part of the "it" crowd, the "A" team.
But Jesus proudly ate with the outcasts, the marginalised, and those on the edges. (Luke 19). 

You try to say and do all the right things to get praise and accolades.
But Jesus challenged a guy who did everything perfectly and told him that he still lacked… (Mark 10).

A valid human experience is a human experience in all its shapes and sizes, forms and folds. Valid and value and worth aren't a factor. There is no non-valid, unworthy, non-valuable human experience. There is just you and me and all of us humans together doing our best, and sometimes just doing whatever, to live and be and figure it all out. 

Forget trying to prove yourself because there is nothing to prove. You can't be more you just because someone or something says that you can be. The only person you need validation from is yourself. 

On then, look, if you are seeking a sign, if you do want some proof, open your eyes - the proof is everywhere: in smiles and tears and hands and faces and feet. It's in misspelled words, and tantrums on the floor. It's in plates and bowls of food set around awkwardly put together tables. It's in sleepless nights and long warm mornings in the sun. It's in laughter and grief and pain and pleasure. It's in the dark and in the light. It's in prisons and hospitals and schools and parliaments and courtrooms and coffee shops and aged care facilities and hospices. It's in churches and temples and mosques and cathedrals. It's in Australia and America and Israel and Africa. The world is teeming with proof that life is beautiful and precious and holy, miraculous and wonder-filled! Life is proof itself. Everything trying to tell you otherwise is just smoke and mirrors; signs designed to distract you.

They asked Jesus for a sign of his worth, to validate his being (Matt 12). And if anyone could give it, it was him. Me? I would peel back the sky and empty the ocean to prove my worth. But not Jesus. He performed miracles and told people to keep them secret. And when asked to prove himself, he flat out refused. 

His life was the only sign he needed. And only those who could see through the smoke and mirrors witnessed it in all its miraculous glory. 

Will you see through the smoke and mirrors? The distracting signs trying to capture your attention? Your money? Your time? Your capacity? 

Your life IS your sign. You just need to allow yourself to witness it. 

TRY THIS: If you need proof, open your eyes; the world is teeming with proof that life is beautiful and precious and holy, miraculous and wonder-filled! That you are good and holy and you have nothing to prove, only a life to live. 

Liz xo