More than a Worthless Idol

"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.  

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens."

Psalm 96:3-5

 Isn't it astonishing to worship a God who is greatly to be praised? A God who is to be feared above all gods?  If we truly believe that, why aren't we declaring his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples?  

Last night, I met a woman who is following a false god, a worthless idol.  A god who demands time and attention and worship and yet does nothing for his people.  I listened as she explained to me who Buddha is to her, how she lives for him.  Our family dinner at the Thai restaurant quickly turned to a discussion with this woman about her religion.  I kept asking her questions about her god and she tried her best to explain it to me in her broken English.  What I noticed about her description of Buddha is that she lived in a continual state of striving to live right before him, to meet all of his demands, to follow the tradition and ritual that her god expected--and yet this god had done nothing to meet her needs or be near to her.  

Did he humble himself and become a servant to reach you?

Did he take the punishment for your sins so that you might enter into relationship with him?

Did he send his spirit as a helper to teach and guide you in the truth?

Does he answer you when you call to him in prayer?

At the very least, did he live a life that is worthy of being followed?

At the end of our conversation, my Thai friend told me that there was once a Muslim man that tried to convert her to Islam.  She told him, "You have your god, I have mine." 

But, there is only one true God.  He made the heavens.  Then, he stepped down into a broken earth with broken people in order to redeem them and bring them back to himself.  Any other god is no god at all, rather a worthless idol.  And there are millions of people like my friend at the Thai restaurant last night that don't know this God.  Millions and millions of broken, hurting people who are attempting to follow a god who is never satisfied.  Millions of faces, hearts, families who don't know the one true God.  

So, is our God great enough that we will declare his glory among the nations?  Are his works marvelous in our eyes in such a way that we want to proclaim his works to those who have never heard?

There is only on God who is worthy of praise.  Let those of us who have met this God live like it.