Readings for today: Isaiah 43-45, Psalms 80
“But is it true?” I often ask this question a lot when I meet with people who are not yet Christians. We talk about faith. We have deep discussions about the meaning of life. We discuss philosophy and religion and history and how humanity has interacted with the world. We compare and contrast belief systems and ethics. I don’t ever question their sincerity. Many of them are passionately devoted to their faith which I respect. They live lives I deeply admire. But eventually we do find ourselves coming to the fundamental question…is it true? Do the gods they believe in actually exist? Does their understanding of life and the universe and the world around us and even the human heart square with reality? This is where the rubber meets the road in our conversations and I find if I have done a good enough job listening and learning and loving them well, we end up in a sacred space where the Lord makes Himself known.
God is God. Without rival. Without peer. There simply is no other. And this God has made Himself known to His people. He has chosen them from before the foundations of the earth. He loves them and protects them. He guides them and directs them. When they go astray - as we all do - He lovingly disciplines them and corrects them. This is especially true when it comes to idolatry. God knows the poverty of our spiritual condition. He knows how tempting it is for us to worship gods of our own making. And He also knows how futile and empty and powerless such gods are. They are nothing. They have no form. They have no function. They have no authority or power. It doesn’t matter how sincere our devotion to them may be…they simply are not real. They do not exist. They are a lie. And that’s why God goes to such great lengths to make Himself known. He wants His people to know the truth. “I am the Lord and I have no peer.” “No god was formed before Me, and none will outlive Me.” “I, I am the Lord, there is no deliverer beside Me.” “I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but Me.” Over and over again, God makes it clear. He is God. There is no other. He is God. All other idols are worthless. He is God. He alone has the power to deliver and save.
Some place their trust in idols. Some place their trust in themselves. Some place their trust in their wealth and resources. Some place their trust in their influence and worldly power. All of it is an exercise in vanity. None of it has the power to deliver us from sin and death and the devil. None of it has the power to guarantee our eternity. Only God can provide the answers we are looking for. Only God can give us a sure and certain hope for the future. Only God can deliver on His promises. Because God is God and there is no other. Believe and trust and walk in this truth today.
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 46-49, Psalms 135