The Man and his Jesus Car
There was this guy who really wanted this car named
Jesus. It was a beautiful new top of line sport car. So he went to the
dealership and gave the man his money. In return he received his brand
new shiny Jesus car. However after he had driven the car for a few
months he was became tired of it. The thing he once desired no longer
brought him happiness. So he return to the dealership and had a new
stereo put in his Jesus car. This worked well for awhile but he soon
became complacent again. So he decided he needed to add some new rims to
his Jesus car. The cycle continued and for a long time the man
continued to return to the dealership for upgrades. The worst part for
this guy was he had to pretend that he still enjoyed his Jesus car that
no longer gave him satisfaction. Because many of his friend also owned
Jesus cars, and they seemed to treasure the car.
Are you going to Christianity in pursuit of happiness? Are you looking to gain something from Jesus?
Could
Christianity be the freedom from the pursuit of happiness? What if
Christianity means gain only through the loss of everything? I believe they do but if heaven and hell don't
exist is it still worth following Jesus on this earth?
Are you embracing God as an escape from reality or finding God in the midst of relationships and the world around you?
We are never promised happiness, but we are promised joy (Gal 5:22, Rom 14:17). Happiness is fleeting; Joy endures through all circumstances.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I'm just having difficulty understanding your point, but God, if He is Perfect, can never be an 'idol' (assuming in the word a negative connotation). If we are seeking evil things from God, we are not seeking the true God at all.
Thanks for the comment Matthew. I don't always elaborate or provide commentary for my blogs because they are often meant to provoke questions rather than answers. So in that sense it is good to see you wrestling with the post.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that true God can ever be an idol or that we could make him so. I am only questioning if we can hold God in our minds as an idol. In a way we are saying the same thing. Only I would like to take it a step further by asking more provocative questions.
Here I question using God as the answer to the pursuit of happiness. Is the pursuit of happiness an evil thing? Is a ticket to heaven evil? Is peace during hard times an evil thing? Is finding meaning in life an evil thing?
Most people would say no, but these are all things we use God for.
By making God the answer to all of our unanswered questions have we created a new god while claiming it to be the true God? Have we made God to be the answer to our questions rather than the mystery which created our question? Are we allowing the true God to be as big as he truly is or are we simply defining God for our purposes?