My False God

Today's Reading: Acts 17:10-34 & Acts 18:1-17

Scripture:

"Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man." Acts 17:29

Observation:

This scripture is all about the practice of idol making. For the most part I normally think of idols in terms of false gods created and worshipped by others or things in my life that I have placed above God. This text opens my eyes to see a third form of an idol: my false thoughts of the true God.

Application:

My view of God has to be Biblical. My struggle against this is that my fears, desires, and mental capacity all fight to create boundaries for God. It is hard for me to accept what I cannot comprehend so my heart, mind, and soul are always trying to put an infinite God in a finite box. This will never work.

The concept of God is not a rational concept. No matter how hard I study or how hard I strive, God will always exist outside of my logic, feelings, and concerns. I have two choices with this reality. I can work against it and create a false image of God that fits into the box I make for Him or I can surrender to truth of who God is.

Prayer:

The mental boxes I use to process things are always made up of some blend of my fears, desires, or mental images. If something assuages a fear, soothes a desire, or fits a vision then I can understand it, pursue it, and appreciate it. This is my grid for evaluating things and I have unknowingly applied it to You.

I have created images of You that are no more holy than a golden calf. I confess to You this morning that I am often guilty of not serving or seek You but rather I serve and seek after my false image of You.

I ask today that You teach me to accept what my mind, will, and emotions refuse. Help me to stand firm on the truths that I know and strengthen me to not be overwhelmed by the questions that remain unanswered.

I do not want to seek after the god I have created in my mind. The desire of my heart is to fully experience the God who can not be contained by the images of my mind.