Continuing from our last thought, I feel the need to expand slightly upon the concept, so that it can be seen for all it is. The difficult part is going to be that I will be bringing up things of which I have been guilty, but I have learned from those mistakes and grown... I pray that the same result will come as you read along.
You see, it's not just the food in the temple of the idol that causes the problem. It's also the open-minded acceptance that the idol might have a good point, or be worth listening to. The funny part of that, of course, is that idols never spoke to the people. They did not rain down fire from Heaven onto a sacrificial bull atop a mountain, and they didn't speak through a bush aflame but not consumed, and they didn't send a Messiah to save the entire world. They were nothing more than carvings and/or drawings (if even that), and had no backing for anythng that their followers believed or said.
God has backing; Jesus has backing; the Spirit has backing.
Ponder for me what happens, though, when a person decides that they "idolize" another person for their looks or talent or money or status or whatever the case may be. Well, if you correctly read the sentence, then you can see that if one person "idolizes" another, then that second person has now become an idol. Stings a little bit, doesn't it? And we may not build altars and raise asherah poles to the person, but we certainly know of scenes in movies where a young man or woman has built a shrine of commercially available items to a specific person. We also know that while we may not sacrifice animals or make blood offerings to the person, we certainly sacrifice time and activities that we could be taking part in just to catch a glimpse of the person we have elevated. For some people, the obsession gets so bad that they believe they must meet and become close to their "idol," and this has, in the past, led to some pretty tragic deaths and some people that we would term as being "crazy" for their beliefs.
God deserves that kind of chasing; Jesus deserves that kind of chasing; the Spirit deserves that kind of chasing.
Worse than that, though, is when one person refers to another person as "a god" for whatever it is they are good at. I have been guilty of this, with respect to the percussive talents of a specific, Canadian-born rock drummer. At the time, I was a teenager, and I thought little of the phrase. As I've grown, though, I see it quite differently. It is no joke, and there is nothing okay about elevating a man to the level of the Father... because only God can elevate. And yet, with the power to bring us up to Him, He instead decided to send Jesus to us, meeting us where we were, in sin and filth and grossness and evil, and lift us up upon Himself. Look at that, folks: God could've raised us to Himself, but instead allowed us to stand upon Jesus to be raised up. He lowered Himself so that we could be raised, rather than just lifting everyone to the level we all wish to reach one day. No man would've done that, because it would be too hard.
God would do that; Jesus would do that; the Spirit would do that.
Humans know hardship, Christian sibling, but God does not. Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is outside His ability. We are not that powerful, no matter how influential or wealthy or frightening or intimidating or anything else we may become. And it is only in the realization that we can only trust in Him, and not in ourselves, that we can finally start to let go. At that point, the storm may well overtake whatever ship we have set sail upon, and the mast may fall, but the storm is not outside the control of the Father. And right there, in the midst, we need to seek to understand that it is His will that we must seek, and that His love surrounds and envelops us in all things. Also, if you think about it, the person that you "idolize" isn't usually the one you hope will save you as you go through difficult situations and circumstances... when the chips are down, it's usually the Father that gets the phone call, right?
God deserves that place; Jesus deserves that place; the Spirit deserves that place.
Take time today, friends, to reflect upon what takes the majority of your time, both in thought and in action. If there is something that outweighs the Father, focus yourself today in prayer to release that item back to the One who created all things, so that nothing can hinder your time with the Father. Let it go back to Him, and then you do the same... go back to Him for all your praises and all your requests and all your life!
God bless you all!!!
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