"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I love this.
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?†And they said to him, “Rabbi†(which means Teacher), “where are you staying?†- John 1:38
Everyone on earth is looking for something. The two disciples in this passage didn't even know Jesus. They were just reacting to the declaration of John the Baptist, when he said "Behold, the Lamb of God!" But in that moment, somehow they knew: In this Man is what we've been looking for.
We're all looking for something; it's how we're built. We're hunters and gatherers, all of us. Unfortunately, many people find, as their life goes by, that what they thought they wanted really wasn't it.
That's why I love this passage. These two guys didn't know much, but they knew that they had found what they were looking for, in this unknown Rabbi walking by. Uncounted millions since then have followed in their footsteps.
What are you seeking? I pray that I will always remember that what I'm seeking can be found; it's with the one who came to seek and to save the lost. It's where Jesus is.
"Rabbi, where are you staying?"
