Would the Real Philip Yancey Please Step Forward?

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Philip Yancey - Marron Bells near Aspen"][/caption]

Recently I formed a strong, and no doubt lasting, relationship with well-known author Philip Yancey.  That's right, I "liked" him on Facebook.  What could possibly break this bond of friendship forged over the red-hot coals of interwebcyerificness?

An imposter?!

No, I "liked" the right one out of the all the choices I had on Facebook.  I could deduce that he was not the black woman, nor the teen boy, not the proud dad nor even the "boy band", no the real Philip Yancey had to be the one with the most fans - over 2,000 (a little weak for a guy who has sold over 14 million books, but this has to be him, I recognize the photo of Shakespeare's look-alike).  Still as I read on there was the quote "I'm Philip _#*bleeping%# Yancey!"  Something was not quite right.  Philip writes books on God, Understanding, Forgiveness, Grace, Jesus and topics like this, how could he have a comment like that right there, out in the open for all to see?  Well there was his picture, but two or three of the profiles shared the same, and even authentic picture of the real man.  So which was real and which the imposter?

Just the other day had the chance to climb a peak with my wife, Philip, and his wife.  As we neared the 13,000 foot high saddle of the mountain my wife, due to her keen sense of electrical storms, decided to turn back.  Philip graciously offered to go with her back to the car knowing that his wife's wish for a summit on one of her last remaining 14ers,  and hope of getting to the top, rested with me.  We gave it our all, yet we too were forced to turn around.  I was thankful that my wife was in good hands, and that Philip would give up his bid on a summit with the one who wanted it most, to care for the one who wanted the summit least and needed care the most.

This was the real Philip Yancey.  His actions matched his words.  His character emulated the one he claims to serve.
That is the mark of the genuine article.  When lined up and compared, the counterfeit won't measure up.  I later found the real Philip Yancey on Facebook with all of his 200 fans (201 now) and on that site I saw the evidence that matched the man.  The books, the deep thoughts, the insight and help he offered showed me this is the authentic Philip Yancey.  I am now challenged to look for imposters of my own,  finding sometimes it is possible to be my own worst enemy.  If you happened to see Philip running around Aspen with a  cute young Blonde, again it is not what you think; that was my wife and he bought her a real blueberry muffin.  Beware of those who impose and of judgments quickly made in haste, dig deeper and discover the truth behind the face(book).