Idolatry

I'm realizing that we do in fact worship a tangible idol here in America. It may not be in the shape of a statue that we bow down to, but it does come in many shapes, sizes, and functions. We bow down to our selfish desire for the latest trend or technology. Materialism has plagued America since the instalment of capitalism. We are driven for our unquenchable thirst for more "stuff".

I went up to Hearst Castle yesterday. I have never been there. And I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by what I found. It was going to cost us $25 to get in a bus and walk through a guy's house that he built to try to find fulfillment in the now. He was driven by what he could have here on Earth. And as I stood there, I noticed that everybody around me had the same drive train, me included. To a degree, everybody there, some more than others, wanted to have the stuff that William Hearst had.

But God has called his followers to a different drum beat. He told the rich young ruler to leave all that he had. To abandon his identity. That is, his materialistic idol. Nothing in this world is laying prostrate before but God. That's something that we in America must remind ourselves everytime we watch tv, drive through town, and walk into any shopping center. A passion for the tangible will leave you lonely and wanting more than what you have. Materialism is an ever-perpetuating ride of emptiness.

As Christopher Wright so brilliantly put it, "The worship of false gods is the fellowship of futility, the grand delusion whose only destiny is disappointment."

Just Do Something

The answer to my prayers?!

Prayer For Obama

Obama will be in my prayers. It is an historical event and I am blessed to live in America where the Presidents can so peacefully switch power. I pray that Obama will have guidance, protection, and wisdom from God in this presidency. But most importantly, I pray God will break down Obama's opinions on abortion and make them fit more in tune with a Biblical Worldview.

Also, I'll agree with everybody when they say he is a great rhetoric, but not as good as Piper!

Living on "The Fringe"

I just finished watching the second episode of a new TV series called The Fringe. The final minute or so there was an extremely profound quote that I think would be good to explore.

"The inherent pitfall of being a scientist is trying to maintain the distinction between God's domain and our own."

I feel as if the inherent pitfall of being a descendant of Adam would be not understanding the distinction between God's domain and our's. What even constitutes as "our" domain? In one of my classes we had a topic floating in the air about the reality of dying to ourselves. If you want to take it one step further you could say we are already dead. "Dead to sin, alive in Christ." 

Calvin puts it this way, "we are just sojourners in this world. Our true home address is in heaven. " [I read that today and don't have the book with me...it probably shouldn't be in quotes now that I think about it...]

So when you look at it like that, we don't own anything! We must live in this world as sojourners. I'm not saying that disciples of Christ should sell all they own and live like homeless people begging for food, but I am saying that they should give all they have up. 

Genesis 22 shows the perfect example of this idea. Abraham was so enthralled with his son Isaac that God made sure that Abraham's allegiance was still devoted to God. He asked him to make the ultimate sacrifice; his son, his most beloved possession. 

That is the total surrender of our possessions.

God has commanded us to be in this world as nomads. We own nothing but that which is awaiting us in Heaven. That is a radical call! It is something that I need to learn more of. I just don't want this to be an ideal for me; I need this to be words that are spoken through my actions. I must die to myself every morning and say, "God, I am just a wandering fool that is willing to do whatever it is that You ask of me." 

That is the true meaning of living on "the fringe". We are always one heart beat away from heaven. So let us not waste that final thump of life on the sensual. But instead,  Let us become gloriously broken and destroyed by our sin as we call on the name of the Lord for help. Let us use our last heart beat to pump as much of the Gospel into this pitfall we call Earth as we can.