What god?

Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed; see

the thorn-crown; mark his scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills; see hands

and feet given up to the rough iron, and his whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness,

and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in his outward frame; hear the

thrilling shriek, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And if you do not lie prostrate

on the ground before that cross, you have never seen it: if you are not humbled in the presence of

Jesus, you do not know him. Charles Spurgeon

Someone I was friends with years back contended that it didn't matter what god you believed in. She claimed that whether you were a Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Muslim or Christian did not matter. Her contention was that God was god in many different ways to different people and he would honor their belief and we would all end up in the same place after this life. As I deal with the reality that my cancer has returned and start to plan for further testing and possible treatment (putting it off for the moment to enjoy weddings and grand-babies) I have thought of my friend's philosophy. In some ways it would make life a lot easier if I thought that way. The trouble is that neither my thinking nor hers makes something true. If my friend had bothered to pay attention to any of the claims of those religions she would have found that each one denies the others as being true. As for me, I fully believe the Scripture that Christ is the only way to salvation. As He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Isaiah 44:6 says, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.'" It very much does matter in whose hands we put our trust and our future.

I fear, however, that even among professing Christians we have a tendency to recreate God in our own image. I’ve heard friends say they believe in the God of the New Testament, but not of the Old. I’ve had friends who like to see God as a God only of love and not of justice. However, the Bible says that God "is the same yesterday, today and forever." Do I understand all of what He did in the Old Testament? No, but for me to try to say that cannot be the same God is to put myself above Him and try to make Him into someone I am pleased with. Is it any easier to understand how God Almighty looked down in love on me, who am but nothing, and chose me to be one of His children? So, I believe and look forward to the day in Heaven when I can see how it all fits in and fully know Who He is. I know I will be humbled with the knowledge I discover then and by the misconceptions I have now.

For myself, I don't put faith in other religions and I attempt to take God for who He says He is in His Word, but I fear the tendency I have is to make additional gods in my life. Yes, I trust in God alone for salvation, but often I put the things of this world above my worship of Him. So often the kingdom revolves around me instead my being a part of His kingdom. There is a war going on in my heart and it is easy to get my perspective wrong. So often I think that because my theology is right (or I think it is), because I read the Bible and go to a good church, that I am worshiping the true Lord. However, when I peek into those things often I see that I am all too frequently driven by material things, by what others think of me, by the day's activities or trying to control my own life and health. Those idols are often hidden and thus most dangerous to my Christian life. The Heidelberg Catechism #95 asks: "What is idolatry?" The answer is, "Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in his Word."  Our pastor said it well in his sermon yesterday morning, "What distracts you from wholehearted devotion to Christ and what draws you away from affection to Christ, is idolatry."  I pray that God with His jealous love for His bride would make me aware of and destroy the idols that draw me aside from full affection to Him.