The season of Lent is upon us.
Time to do what we need
to be always doing: letting the Holy Spirit do His ongoing work of changing us
to look like Jesus.
It has been said that the human soul is the most prolific
idol maker known. We enshrine things, people and places results that and
demand of them what God alone can give.
People sacrifice their time and energy to gain the approval
of people they have determined is necessary to their well being. That approval
is what makes them feel they have value and worth.
Some will drown themselves in debt to have the
"toys" that society has declared to be the signs of success and
prestige.
Others may become slaves to fashion believing that having
the "in vogue" wardrobe is what defines them as a person of
distinction.
Jobs, houses, cars, clothes, club memberships and the
"right crowd" become idols to whom people willingly sacrifice their
lives and fortunes expecting that the idols will return to them a life of
contentment, fulfillment and purpose.
It never works. The stuff we turn into
idols simply demands more and more of our life-blood and never returns on
the investment what we had hoped for. We lose sight of who we are and our
vision of God shrivels into insignificance.
When
you are gazing at your idols, worshiping them, you lose your holy
imagination and forget who God really is.
Your
job is not your security. Your clothes are not your identity, your possessions
are not the measure of your worth. Your intellect is not the end all of wisdom
and understanding. When we make idols of anything or any relationship,
demanding that they do for us what only God can do, our vision of God shrinks
to the pitiful.
God
alone is the One who can fill us with life and peace, wisdom and true strength.
He is the only unchangeable source truth and mercy. He is the One who formed us
and has a future and a hope for us. Our destiny and identity are found in Him.
They can be discovered no where else. He is the One who reveals to us who He is
that we might see with His eyes to see who we actually are. Praise His Name,
God is not limited by what we know or by what we have experienced.
Jesus
Christ alone can give life that can never be taken from you. Jesus alone can
give you life that will never grow smaller and will never end.
Purpose
and destiny are found in Him alone. If your holy imagination, your
"idea" of God has shrunk so that your faith is anemic, ask the Lord
to show you your idols and then repent, turn from them to the Living God and
let Him astound you with the wonder of His grace and truth.
We
must get our eyes off the things that have become, even subtly, idols in
our lives. They are like spiritual vampires sapping us of life and peace.
Don't think you don't have idols tucked away. You and I
are consummate idol makers.
The Devil tried to get Jesus to fix His eyes on something other than God to
accomplish His mission here on earth. Just like Satan offered Adam and Eve an
alternative to dependence on God (good definition of an idol...anything we
depend on in the place of God) he offered Jesus alternatives to obedience and
suffering to rescue humanity from sin and death.
I
want to encourage you, as we enter into the season of Lent, to ask the Lord to
show you and empower you let go of attitudes, habits and actions
that indicate there may be an idol in your heart's
"closet". Especially read the Gospel for this Sunday: Luke 4:1-13. Pray through it and
ask the Lord to open your ears so you can hear Him speak to you.
Jesus wants
His people to be "idol free". That is the condition of
heart, will, mind and emotion that display the winsomeness of God. With
our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Holy Spirit can cause our vision of God to
be rescued and healed. He wants us to see Him as He truly
is; the One who makes life whole and complete. Turn from idols, look to
Him and live!
God's
deep peace keep you,
Fr.
Mark+
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