MERRY TUESDAY BY PARRIS
“For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” Rom.1:20
In the Book of Daniel we watch with mouths open the fall of King Nebuchadnezzar. (Dan 4:30) He is warned by God not to take credit for all his powerful deeds as king. But somehow we just know he will slip. With bated breath we read of a powerful man being turned into a beast, furry haired thing scratching along the dirt gnawing on vegetation and dreaming the things animals dream of in their sleep. In his humbled state he declares God as being the great I am and is restored back to his former self. He learned there is one creator -THE GREAT I AM. We too are without excuse trying to control what we can’t control and own what we don’t own. In a weird realty we see a world being turned into animal’s ways. Turning downward and never looking up. What is the answer? To worship the creator not the creation. When we became born again a new king stepped into our lives and took over our reign. I Cor 4:7 reminds us gently when it says “what do you have that you did not receive?” When Christ steps into our lives a supernatural rearranging takes place in us. We stoop low and remain thankful for the ups downs bumps and breakthroughs we have in this temporary setting. Ephesians 3:20 says; “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Thank God for the power of God replenishing our desire to take credit and control.
Jen Wilkin in her book None Like Him says, “Worshiping the creation rather than the creator doesn’t cause us to protect life or steward creation. It causes us to devalue life and consume creation. This is because all worship of the creation is actually a veiled form of self worship. Consider abortion, human trafficking, domestic violence, and child abuse as daily evidences of our disordered worship of people. Rather than treating people as image bearers, we treat them as consumable and expendable, only holding value insofar as they feed our desires. Dig through our landfills and gaze on our shattered landscapes to discern our disordered worship of things. Rather than stewarding resources, we treat them as consumable, expendable, only holding value insofar as the satiate our cravings. When we attach our worship to something less than God, we end up consuming and casting off the person or thing we worship in his place. And in the consuming and casting off, we reveal that the true object of our worship is self. We make a shameless declaration of “I am”.