jonah

As I was reading Jonah the other night, given our current message series at Nativity, this verse jumped out at me: Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs (NIV, Jonah 2.8). It is such a crystal clear way to sum up the relationship we have with our counterfeit gods... When we choose them over our Lord, we miss out on grace.

Those of us who are engaged in Missions work are often go-getters. As a result of being involved in a lot of activities, our schedules tend to get crazy full. The idols in our lives can be good things -- like doing Missions work -- it's when they jump a few slots too high on the list of priorities that a good thing becomes an idol... And we start to do things like look to our to-do list to provide a sense of worth and be a source of happiness. Have you ever worshiped your work, your schedule, your busyness? Is that a source of pride for you? Is it a counterfeit god?

Idols aren't always drugs and money. Remember that even good things, when put out of order, can cause us miss out on grace. God calls us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He doesn't ask us to do a whole lot, just to love.