We are Gods...

Now that I have your attention, and before you feel as though I am committing blasphemy by an admission like "We are Gods", just hang with me for a moment. Most wrestle with questions about God; "is He real, does He care, is He just, who is He? Unfortunately not many find resolution with these questions. However no matter the questions you ask, one thing is true about all of us and that is, we are all worshipers. Whether it is done in temples, churches, or in the living room, every person lavishes extravagant love on the object or objects of highest affection. We do this by the way we spend our time, what we spend our resources on, and what we sacrifice for. Religious expressions of worship like kneeling, singing, clapping, raising hands, giving to the poor, etc. is not worship but simply acts of worship and point to the object of highest importance.

A quick glance across culture one thing becomes painfully obvious and that is not the lack of worship toward God, but the earnest devotion and worship of a lesser God, the God of "ME". This God has it's own expressions of devotion to numerous to count; greed, pleasure at all costs, people's approval, hunger for power, selfish ambition, dishonest gain. This reflects a very present god, but unfortunately it is a weak impotent god who is unable to deliver the goods and ends up leaving the devotee on an endless quest that in the end would best be characterized by a man who knew it all too well, Solomon as he called it "meaningless", "a chasing after the wind". The question isn't whether are not you are devoted to God or not, it's a matter of which God are you devoted to.

The worship of the one true God in effect is the denial of any and all lesser God's. The process is becoming keenly aware of your own frailty and need for something more. This process is not automatic and will never be fully realized, but the pursuit of the God is a deep transfer of your heart's devotion, the byproduct of that is our response or acts of worship ie; loving, giving, blessing, singing, dancing, kneeling. This is puts a subtle shift in the idea that, "WE ARE GODS", that makes all the difference in the world and that shift is simply the addition of an apostrophe into the equation making it, "WE ARE GOD'S". Instead of being possessed by our own pursuits we willfully choose to surrender our pursuits to HIM.

This is a reminder I need every day as a Pastor attempting to do my best to serve God by serving His people. If ever I think that some gifting or insight I have somehow gives me power to be God I am in a world of trouble and so are you. Yesterday I was in a meeting with a bunch of pastor's and I heard our Navarre campus pastor Ron Rice, give his life verse that I have been wrestling with ever since and I think I might adopt it as mine as well, it's the words of John the Baptist in John 1:20. John the Baptist was a man of growing popularity and clout and Jesus comes on the scene, his honest confession to his devotees was simple and was summed up in the statement, "I AM NOT THE CHRIST". I'm not sure if there is a more liberating or a more powerful statement to be made in that admission. The only ability I have is to point people toward the one who is capable of changing everything. I must decrease so that He might increase.

Have a great weekend!

Comments

[Jim Mather]

well said

[steve]

Well put...

I spoke on servant hood recently I quoted Donald Miller blue like jazz

I was addicted to myself. All I thought about was myself. The only thing I really cared about was myself. I had very little concept of love, altruism, or sacrifice. I discovered my mind is like a radio that picks up only one station, the one that plays me:
K-don, all don, all the time

I then asked people to turn to the person sitting next to them and say, ‘I am not the center of the universe.’ One thinking friend said to his wife, ‘You are the center of my universe.’ Big points, with wife!

People got the point.

Phil 2 let this attitude be in you…I’m no big deal. People who realize they are ‘no big deal’ don’t have a problem serving others. They are the learners of our generation.

[Jon Morris]

http://iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Pete_Briscoe/

This video is so relevant to your thoughts...check it out.