No Satisfaction
“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”—Psalm 115:4-8
Anything that takes the place of God in our lives is an idol. As Mark Driscoll puts it, idols are “usually good things that we turn into God things and in turn become bad things.” Idols act as functional saviors that we go to in order to find satisfaction. But it is a fruitless pursuit, because the more loyalty we give the idol, the less we get from it. It becomes the source of our delight to the point where we do everything in order to make the idol happy. Driscoll comments again:
“Idols such as money, sex, alcohol, relationships, education, even blogs act as functional saviors that if we allow to take precedent in our lives take us away from our real problems and insecurities and give us a false sense of worth and joy that can only be found in the light of Jesus Christ.”
An idol is anything, a person, a job, a position, a habit, or hobby that captures our heart. Anything that takes the place of God in our life—a movie, music, food, relationships, job, career, accomplishments, sports, can all be idols if we seek for them to provide comfort or security for our lives. Jesus Christ is our life (Colossians 3:4), the ultimate source of our pleasure and delight. He is the center, our reason for being, and the one from whom we find our purpose. Without Him there is no God, there is no purpose, and heaven is not heaven. He is our everything, our greatest joy and passion, and the very reason for our existence (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16).
What is my ultimate source of delight? Is it my girlfriend, my job, my car, my church, or my knowledge? What, if it were taken away, would make my life crumble? Not that we wouldn’t experience loss or pain from it, but if it were taken away, would we not be able to live? I think of the woman who said, “If my children aren’t going to be in heaven then I don’t want to be there.” Of course, she made her children an idol—her happiness was determined by or based upon theirs.
John Calvin said that our hearts are “idol factories” making everything and anything into an idol. We must realize that all of those who worship idols will become like them, deaf, dumb and mute. For those who have God as the center of their being, there is a greater awareness and understanding of who He is. The more that we commune with the Triune God, the more we become like Him, as Paul wrote: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” —2 Corinthians 3:18.
May Christ be the center of our being, as we continually behold His glory, looking for the day when we will see Him who is our hearts’ desire face to face, becoming like Him, spending eternity delighting in the joy of knowing Him. Amen.
Anything that takes the place of God in our lives is an idol. As Mark Driscoll puts it, idols are “usually good things that we turn into God things and in turn become bad things.” Idols act as functional saviors that we go to in order to find satisfaction. But it is a fruitless pursuit, because the more loyalty we give the idol, the less we get from it. It becomes the source of our delight to the point where we do everything in order to make the idol happy. Driscoll comments again:
“Idols such as money, sex, alcohol, relationships, education, even blogs act as functional saviors that if we allow to take precedent in our lives take us away from our real problems and insecurities and give us a false sense of worth and joy that can only be found in the light of Jesus Christ.”
An idol is anything, a person, a job, a position, a habit, or hobby that captures our heart. Anything that takes the place of God in our life—a movie, music, food, relationships, job, career, accomplishments, sports, can all be idols if we seek for them to provide comfort or security for our lives. Jesus Christ is our life (Colossians 3:4), the ultimate source of our pleasure and delight. He is the center, our reason for being, and the one from whom we find our purpose. Without Him there is no God, there is no purpose, and heaven is not heaven. He is our everything, our greatest joy and passion, and the very reason for our existence (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16).
What is my ultimate source of delight? Is it my girlfriend, my job, my car, my church, or my knowledge? What, if it were taken away, would make my life crumble? Not that we wouldn’t experience loss or pain from it, but if it were taken away, would we not be able to live? I think of the woman who said, “If my children aren’t going to be in heaven then I don’t want to be there.” Of course, she made her children an idol—her happiness was determined by or based upon theirs.
John Calvin said that our hearts are “idol factories” making everything and anything into an idol. We must realize that all of those who worship idols will become like them, deaf, dumb and mute. For those who have God as the center of their being, there is a greater awareness and understanding of who He is. The more that we commune with the Triune God, the more we become like Him, as Paul wrote: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” —2 Corinthians 3:18.
May Christ be the center of our being, as we continually behold His glory, looking for the day when we will see Him who is our hearts’ desire face to face, becoming like Him, spending eternity delighting in the joy of knowing Him. Amen.
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