"Preferring anything above Christ is the very essence of sin." -john piper from When I Don't Desire God.
O how all too often I prefer things above Christ. I prefer things that just don't satisfy. I prefer pleasures that leave me feeling empty when, "at God's right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Ps. 16:11).
This morning I read Exodus 32 and the account of the golden calf. I was struck by the abrasiveness of the act of idolatry. Not only did Aaron and the people of Israel worship this idol but they attributed it as 'the god who brought them out of the land Egypt' (32:4). Throughout Exodus & Leviticus we read that YHWH establishes His relationship with the people of Israel by declaring that He was the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt (Ex. 20:2, Lev. 22:32-33, Lev. 25:38, 42, 55, Lev. 26:13). In fact, when YHWH establishes His commandments for the people of Israel He establishes them on the very basis of His person (who He is) and His redemption (what He has done)..."I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2). Why should you obey and follow these commandments? Because I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!
Though I considered this act in Ex. 32 abrasive and cold-hearted, I must look inward and see how I am led astray by my desires and pleasures that are plugged into false vines. In the very same way that the people of Israel said that the golden calf was the god who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so I, when I sin, declare that Christ is not enough for me at this moment. O how wretched I am!
"BUT GOD....being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ"! (Ephesians 2:4-5)
Thanks be to God for the two words, "but God".
In these two words there is:
freedom
deliverance
power
grace!
BUT GOD