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Tag Archives: Come unto me and I will give you rest

Identity Crisis: Stuff (Part 1)

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Besides status, people also worship stuff. They treasure earthly possessions above all else, sincerely believing that things can bring joy. The writer of Psalm 115 continues in verses 2-9:

“Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

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.

O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”

Those who do not trust in God trust in idols. The picture of a modern day businessman, athlete, or scientist bowing down before a graven image can seem a little comical. Our world is becoming less and less “religious.” However, what is not so funny is seeing the businessman bow before the idol of wealth, the athlete bow before the idol of fame and glory, and the scientist bow before the idol of knowledge.

There is nothing inherently evil about wealth, popularity and knowledge. Abraham was so wealthy he had his own personal army, Solomon was not only the wisest, but riches and most famous man in the world in his day. However, it is the love and pursuit of these things as treasured possessions with the hope and belief that they will somehow produce satisfaction and joy that is sinful; it’s called idolatry. Treasuring anything other than God with your heart’s highest affection is idolatry.

Continue with part 2 on Monday . . .

The Great Exchange That Needs to Change

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Before the fall of Adam man lived in perfect harmony with God. His whole heart pursued pleasure and was satisfied in God alone. Unfortunately, after the fall, the world was plunged into sin and darkness. Man’s affections were twisted and depraved. Instead of loving and serving God as the Creator of all things, man began to worship the things that had been created. Paul gives us the gory details in  Romans 1:21-25:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Paul says that men know God, but they simply choose to ignore him. Because they choose to live with out him they become foolish and exchange living for God’s glory for living for their own glory. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie. What is this “truth” and “lie” exchange? The key to understanding what truth is exchanged for a lie, is in the subsequent phrase “and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” What would cause men to exchange this truth for a lie? What would cause men to turn from worshiping an eternal God to worshiping temporal things? Sin certainly plays a role, but how? What men exchange is the truth that God is all that man will ever need or want to find soul satisfying pleasure and delight. And what they believe instead is the lie that status and stuff can satisfy just as much, if not more, than God.

This precedent was set for us in Genesis chapter three:

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Satan’s line of reasoning was simple. “God is a liar; he is holding out on you. He is not everything you need for your soul to be satisfied. There is something else, something created that can give you real joy.” Satan convinced Eve that God was not enough, and Eve fell for it hook, line and sinker. She exchanged the truth that the paradise, which God had created for her with its rules to protect her and keep her best interest in mind, was no longer enough. God was no longer enough. Instead she gave herself completely to the lie that by eating the forbidden fruit she would become like God; perhaps she could make a paradise that was even better with her own rules of right and wrong and where she could look out for her own interests. She wanted to be the god of her world; that would be just as good if not better than obeying God, right? We’ve been feeling the effects of that kind of thinking ever since.

The Good News of Rest

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Work. Webster defines it as activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result. So many people think work is the key to eternal life. They mentally weigh themselves on the merit scale and consistently find the balance in their favor. Their heart clings to the idea that being a “good” person is good enough.

This kind of thinking is common to every person in every place in every religion.
• Buddha once said, “Salvation… demands strenuous effort and practice. So work hard and seek your own salvation constantly.”
• The Quran reads, “To those who believe and do deeds of righteousness hath Allah promised forgiveness and a great reward.” (Surah 5:9)
• In the document produced by the Council of Trent the Roman Catholic Church declared: “If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified… by faith alone… let him be anathema.” (Canon 14).
•Hindus believe that salvation is attained through 1 of 3 ways; works, knowledge, or personal devotion to a god. They believe that life is lived through karma which is the Hindu word for “works” or “deeds.” Good karma, or works, will produce good rewards, bad works will produce bad rewards. With enough good works, you will reach a state of Nirvana.

Everyone has a plan that includes works along the path of salvation. But Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who labor (who work), and I will give you rest.”

Rest. To end work; a period of ceasing to engage in any effort or activity. Every religion in the world promises reward for effort, but Jesus promises reward for resting. Why?
Because no matter how hard, how long, or how sincere we work, it would never put us in right standing with God. Sounds hopeless, doesn’t it?

But here’s the good news. God knew that we would never, on our own strength, be able to work our way into his good favor. He would have to punish each of us for failing to measure up to his standard. Unless, there was someone who was perfect. Someone who had done all the work perfectly. Someone who worked on our behalf and earned all the favor of God for us. And that someone would not only take all the punishment that was rightfully ours, but would give to us all the credit for the work that was rightfully his. That Someone was Jesus. And he freely offers us all his work, if we would rest in him, and him alone.

Resting our hope on his effort, makes his effort our reward.

CyberChimps