Monday, August 18, 2014

Gods or God?

Monday, August 18, 2014
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.  Why let the nations say, “Where is their God?”  Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.  Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.  They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.  They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.  They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.  And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.                Psalms 115:1-8 (NLT)
When it comes to “god” the choices are fairly well defined:
             1. You believe in God
             2. You don’t believe in God
             3. You don’t think about God at all

Let’s consider the list as a countdown…in reverse order:

First…Not thinking at all about God

To refuse to think is what a lot of people do, simply because it’s easier.  Not entertaining the notion of a creator makes it a whole lot simpler to cruise through life like a leech, sucking up the “good life” while not worrying about weightier issues like morality or eternity.  Easy.  No brainer (at all).

Second…Not believing in God

To refuse to believe in God takes a lot more thought-effort.  After all, there is science to contend with, and what to do with all the natural order and where-we-came-from-and-where-we’re-going issues.  Then the metaphysical stuff gets in the way…ethics and why we think at all about good and evil and the meaning of our existence.  To refute the idea of “creator” and explain away all that takes a lot of work. 

Consider this fact:  science requires that things (substance) left to itself tend to come unglued – fall apart.  Yet in nature, the universe (if you don’t believe in a creator) supposedly came together in perfect order…all by itself.  Makes one’s brain hurt to do that without God!  Much more difficult than just not thinking about God at all.

Third…You believe in God

Well, good; the question then becomes, in what or whom do you believe?

You can choose something you can hold in your hands; a god of your creation (an idol).  And if that’s your choice, well then, Gee Whiz, if you created God, then you must be the Creator; you’re God!  Ooops…can’t bring that one to Sunday School now, can we?

Or you could choose to believe in an impersonal force.  In the Star Wars Trilogy Luke Skywalker chose the Force; something of a magical power, universal and unknowable. But it was something you could tap-into to defeat the other, the Dark Side.  Wow…sounds just like a struggle between good and evil, full of ethical and integral choices.  Kind of like spooky philosophy.

But, if you’re a traditionalist – a Methodist, perhaps – you just might chose faith in something a little more dangerous.  You might choose to place your faith in a God you cannot see, but whose works are evident every single nanosecond of time and eternity.

You can look at yourself and see Him; His image is imprinted on everything that makes you who you are.  Deep down you know this…and that’s why placing your faith in God is entirely possible.  He is the personal, knowable and eternal God of Scripture.

Unlike the gods you can create, who may have eyes (but don’t see), ears (but can’t hear) and so on…Lord God of Heaven is worthy of glory, honor, praise and worship.

For You, Today
Go on and let it out.  Say it out loud – “Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!”

Now you’re on the path to a great day!

No comments:

Post a Comment