Introduction
What sort of decision-maker
are you? Often life brings many options, courses of action to choose between –
how do you go with this? There is one major fork in the road in life – and that
is whether we will accept God’s invitation or not! And we should NOT just see
this as a one-off question … that we can tick-off once and never think about
again! We need to keep checking that we are on the right path, that we are
being true disciples, that we are really following Jesus. Here is the choice:
will we follow Jesus … or not; will we accept grace into our lives … or not?
Will we walk aright, or will we “stumble” (Hosea 14:9b)?
None of us would be fully
satisfied … where we are spiritually. None of us would be totally where God
wants us to be. So, we must be awake for the sort of guidance that will draw us
closer to our potential in God, and draw us closer to living in the image of
Jesus. This is the work of the Holy Spirit – nudging us, challenging us,
convicting us, empowering us. Growth doesn’t just happen despite us – we have
to be open for it, ready for it, looking for it, anticipating it … allowing
Jesus to have the sway in our lives! This requires a positive decision; and any
lack of decision, is a bit of a decision in itself.
The Path of Salvation
At some point in life, we
became more interested in ourselves and rebelled away from God. This was a
choice we made. It may have been very subtle, almost unconscious; but as we
kept going down that track … and separating ourselves more and more from God,
this was increasingly our choice, and we became lost as a result … and we
needed to be saved. Salvation is the process of accepting God’s rescue plan.
We accept that Jesus has gone
to the cross for us, taking upon himself the burden of our sin and shame,
providing for our forgiveness and a new start. Having accepted this rescue
plan, we become a new person going in a new direction … with an indwelling witness
to Jesus within us, known as the Holy Spirit. We have been re-established in a
relationship with God. We have moved from … ‘I’ll do as I please’ … to … ‘God’s
will be done’. We have become part of God’s Kingdom and God’s mission.
Salvation is a process …
because we are being renewed each day through forgiveness, developing faith,
and growing fruitfulness. Or, at least that’s the plan! We need to be actively
deciding to stay on the right road. Like a bush-walker who loses their
bearings, we can easily drift off the path, if we are not focused and
observant. Yet, just like the rescuers that stayed on the job until that hiker
was found in the Grampians this week, God’s rescue plan remains available for
us (and others) for as long as it takes – to see us firmly on the right path!
In Ancient Times
The ancient people of Israel
had various visitations from God, inviting them to be God’s people … as God
went about being faithful to them and seeking to lead them. Often though, they
went astray, especially when things were going well, or they became a
bit over-confident in their own capacities. They lost focus on God, inevitably
meaning that they would tend to float quite easily into the beliefs and
practices of the pervading culture. This was particularly the case in the heady
days of the 8th Century BCE, when the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Micah
and Hosea were speaking loud and strong.
Faulty decision-making was
putting individual well-being, national interests, and God’s mission at risk;
and these prophets of God addressed this at length. In summing up 14 chapters
of sermons, the great prophet Hosea brings these two verses (14:8-9). The
question is put: Why? Why … when God has been present, available and faithful …
do the people go after other “idols”? God asks (v 8a), “What have I to do with
idols”, meaning that these “idols” are completely separate from who God is, and
his best intentions for humanity.
Some of these “idols” were
the superficial pleasures of the Canaanite gods. Some of these “idols” were
desires for political and military supremacy over neighbouring nations. Some of
these “idols” were related to an ease of life and prosperity. But, none of
these were the blessings that God had particularly in mind for His people! And such “idols”
certainly tended to make people blind and deaf to the real God! And there would
be very serious consequences for ignoring God and taking alternative dead-end
roads. Such is always the case. A life of waste leads to a wasted life.
And the cost isn’t just for
us to bear, for very few decisions are made in isolation. Everything we do …
impacts on all those close to us. Everything we do … resounds through eternity.
The Old Testament ‘judge’ Gideon started out well when he was attuned to God,
but ended badly when he went off under his own counsel. And, those who know the
King David and Bathsheba story, know about how improper impulses and bad
decisions can lead to destructive cover-ups and disastrous outcomes. [Just as
many have done before us, are we taking God too lightly?!]
This is all just so
unthinking, discourteous and disloyal, when you consider that God is like an
“evergreen cypress” (v 8). Whatever sort of pine tree (from those days) is actually
in mind here – I imagine that it would be one impressive tree! We are being
lead to think of a mighty tree that is perennial – it’s always there … a bit of
a land-mark, and is always majestic in character.
If God ever appears to be
missing, we must be lacking (the right) perspective. As God did for the
people of Israel, one generation after another, God provides all we need to
love and appreciate Him. It just could be, that any challenging period for us,
and any sense that God is distant, is meant to be a season of enduring and
learning, or indeed, actively applying what we already know!
[In Jesus’ time, he talked
about the “narrow” gate and the “wide” gate (Matthew 7:13-14). The “wide” gate
is the problematical one, because everything fits through the “wide” gate,
including pride, large egos, power-seeking, hardheartedness and unforgiveness.
The “wide” gate is also the gate of popular opinion; but the problem is … it
leads to destruction. The “wide” gate CANNOT sustain life.
The “narrow” gate, on the
other hand, while NOT designed to be exclusive, is so counter-cultural, and so
God-focussed, many choose NOT to take it. The “narrow” way is also the “hard”
way, because it is the road of sacrificial service in the pattern of Jesus. Yet
this “narrow” gate truly opens the track of freedom and purposefulness, where,
because this is the path of following Jesus – families,
workplaces, schools, sporting clubs, and the whole community can be seriously
blessed.]
Modern Idols
So, like the challenge of Hosea's day, we would need to consider
what “idols” are across our path, perhaps distracting us, perhaps
demeaning us, perhaps diverting us … from staying on the right road. We often
regret that some close to us have strayed; so let’s keep a watch over
ourselves, so that we might be part of their return (and certainly NOT make
matters worse). Perhaps there could even be such a cultural drift toward
rejecting the ways of God, that this could even capture us. What possible
“idols” are competing for our attention, or getting in our way? Could this be a
bigger issue than we might at first imagine?
Actually … might attending to
this, be the big breakthrough we are looking for? Might the impact be broad? So
… what is meant by an “idol”??? Anything that is seen as a substitute for God.
Anything that is given more prominence or importance than God. And this is NOT
just about the downgrading of a personal relationship with God. There is more
at stake than that. To deny God a place in our lives, disrupts the work of
God’s Kingdom, messes with our mission, and potentially breaks up the Body of
Christ (the Church). No wonder God sent prophet after prophet, and then
ultimately Jesus.
“Idols” can steal our
attention, and often this happens quite subtly; but when unaddressed the
negative outcomes are hugely problematical. Sometimes “idols” are a matter of
‘addiction’, but other times simply a (bad) choice. Here are some
possibilities; some of these can normally be quite innocent, unless they are
given the wrong priority, or, more to the point, too much is invested in them,
and too much is expected out of them. You would have to consider your own
situation, and ask the question … does what I invest in this, and expect out of
this … replace God in my life??
These things can be life-giving; but
they can also be life-taking!! Money, material possessions, status, success; life
activities e.g. work, family, sex; personal pursuits e.g. sport, recreation,
food, diet, fashion, physical appearance; religious habits or institutional
duties; politics, social recognition, needing the admiration of others; even
the preference to live with resentment and anger. My “idol” might be acquiring
and imparting knowledge (especially theological learnings); good in itself …
unless you give it the wrong emphasis, and separate this from actually knowing God deeply and
forming (good neighbourly) relationships with others.
Making Good Decisions
Such “idols” can block our
vision … of the best way forward. This is why we sing, “Open the eyes of our
heart Lord, I want to see You, I want to see You”! What we need to do,
is look into the vast possibilities there are … in putting God first, and
deciding 100% for following Jesus. Look at verse 8. Which of these or any
“idols” could possibly replace God!? Which of these or any “idols” are as
attuned to our welfare as God is? Even our own capacity to be faithful and
fruitful depends upon allowing God to grow us.
Those that continue to go
against the grand scheme of nature, the creative genius of God; or indeed those
who regress to worshipping other “idols”, can only stumble – because that path
is rocky and full of so many snares. We are just so designed to be in
relationship with our Creator God, that to miss out on this … leaves us
depleted, and in serious danger. There is a decision for us to make. Tim McGraw
sings these words: We’re all looking for love and meaning in our lives – we
follow the roads that lead us … [either] to drugs or [to] Jesus.
When we do our due
considerations, some “idols” will be easily exposed as far
inferior to God. Others will be considered simple distractions – understandably
so, yet still potentially problematical! Some “idols” need to be well-and-truly
left behind, while others might just need to be re-fitted into a more healthy priority
… and thus no longer be “idols”. Those who take the right fork in the
road are described as “wise” (v 9a) … they have considered well, and have
‘discerned’ correctly what actually makes total sense. Just recall for a moment
… the Magi in Matthew’s nativity story – the wise men, those Gentile
astrologers, who followed the star all the way to the place of Jesus’ birth.
These wise men could have
easily succumbed to the gratuitous overtures of King Herod, and been well
rewarded and acclaimed for their efforts for the king. This would have been the
easier, safer, and even the expected thing for them to do. Yet, we read,
“having been warned in a dream NOT to return to Herod, they left for their own
country BY ANOTHER ROAD” (Matthew 2:12)! We are being led to understand … that
having heard the voice of God, these men (that we call “wise”), decided well.
In their own best interests, and in the service of Jesus – they took the right
fork in the road.
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