They is us

 

Psalm 115

In Psalm 115, the psalmist appeals to God's sense of credibility. That is, because of God's steadfast love and faithfulness, other nations shouldn't question God. Why should they question God's presence and power? After all, the psalmist goes on to say, they follow idols made from human hands. These idols make no sense because they have no sense. Crafted from silver and gold, they only sit in place. The psalmist confronts the idol worship of the nations by declaring Israel's God can do "whatever he pleases" (115:3). Interestingly, as impotent as those idols may have been, they sure had an allure for Israel. There are many times in scripture we read of the people of God turning to gods and idols from other nations. What was it about God's steadfast love and faithfulness that deterred them? That's a question for you and I to reflect on together. After all, they is us. In one sense, we are not ancient Israel. So, we have our own other-nation gods, too. While often cloaked in spiritual platitudes, they still have their own allure and pull. At the same time, we are the people of God today. We know and have experienced God's grace and mercy. Still, we are often willing to liberate ourselves from God's holiness and love. I suppose I can understand why are we like that. The human will is strange. but then I can't help wondering why are we still like that. The reality is our idols have comfort. They project security and happiness, the things we want most. In a perplexing and chaotic world, they seem to present relief and convenience. And they either provide easy answers we want or don't require us to seek the hard questions we need to ask. So, with what he knew about those idols and his people, the psalmist pleads with God's people, you and I included: trust in the Lord! Stay blessed...john