One of the most stark contasts about being in Togo for us is the presence of all the idols. They are everywhere you go, many times with fresh sacrifices on them. The idols for the most part are well taken care of, not falling prey to too much disrepair. Regularly they have new shelters built to protect them from the elements and will have new ribbons of black, red, or white added in addition to new shells, spikes and or maybe even horns to give it that nice intimidating look. All this, of course, has spiritual signifigance but for the most part it is beyond me except for the stark reality that it is of the enemy and is representative of the forces of evil at work in this land. The overtness of the idols here is very disconcerting. It seems to represent a level of depravity or distance from God that you wouldn't expect any where else, particularly not in the United States. One thing we have learned, though, is that idolatry of the physical, overt kind is much easier to remove than that of the more insidious covert nature such as those of the heart. An idol is defined in Webster's as: a false god, or an object or person woshipped. Worship is then defined as: adoration, homage, or loving devotion. From what we read in Ephesians 5:5, I Peter 4:3, and I John 5:21 we see that anything that leads away from God amounts to idolatry. So, are there idols in America, and if there are, where are they? What are the things in our lives that lead us away from God? What are the idols that we need to rid our hearts of?
Mark 12:30 Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment