In the modern coffee bar, it takes some folding money and knowledge of foreign languages and flavors to buy “a cup of coffee.” Do you prefer latte or cappuccino? Brazilian or Colombian? A shot of this or a shot of that? Yet, over time, choice often breeds passivity.
In the same way, some people laugh off the notion of one true God when they see the millions of gods created by human worshipers (the Hindu pantheon alone contains three hundred million gods). “Why bother trying to narrow it down to one?” they reason, and instead of initiating a diligent search for God, they simply never start.
Yet the number of choices reveals another truth. When a person creates a god—an idol to worship—he or she is saying, “This is what I need in a god. If I empower it with my worship, perhaps it will meet my need.” Of course, human attention or desire cannot animate figures of wood or stone or metal, and so the need goes unmet. But lurking in that religious exercise in futility is a profound truth: The human need to worship can only be fulfilled in a god who is worthy of worship. And the only god who is worthy of worship is the One who can meet every need of every worshiper in every place and at every time.
The prophet Isaiah showed that using the limited glory of humankind as a pattern for a god can have only disappointing results (Isa. 30:22; 40:18–19; 44:13–16). All the gold, silver, chains, and jewels in the world cannot animate a column of stone and make it worthy of worship. But the writer of Chronicles reminds us that the true God, the God who created heaven and earth, does exist and is worthy of our praise.
In the modern marketplace, it’s easy to be confused by the multitude of choices. It’s even possible to grow passive and procrastinate. But with God, there is only one choice. And we should never be confused or passive about choosing the one true God.
God’s Promise:
Unlike idols of stone, He always hears when we call on Him.
