How many Gods do you have? Now, I am going to presume that the vast majority of you said “One, of course,” and notwithstanding Three-in-one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you would be absolutely correct. “The Lord our God is One.” (Mark 12:29) The Lord our God is the only one who signs His name with a capital G, but there are hundreds of millions of people on this planet who like to think they can do the same, when in reality it is with a lower case ‘g’ that they must not only ascribe their own deity, but the deity of the ones they serve.
This is the subject my lovely wife and I discussed as we strolled slowly around the block this morning with our old, furry friend. Those that like to think of themselves as the rulers of their own life and destiny, those that have “No fear of God before their eyes,” (Rom.3:18) lead lives down paths that they have chosen for themselves, whether they are a bricklayer, a fashion model or the head of a major corporation, they have been given free will by their maker and the ability to choose their own destiny here on earth. These choices are rarely, if ever, placed in front of God for His leading, for their lust is what leads them, lust for power, recognition, money, the list goes on. A fool in the Scriptures is one who orders his life as if there were no God, and so they serve, whether they will admit it or not, a lower case ‘g’ god, themselves.
May I please quote here from Bernard of Clairvaux’s book, “On Loving God,” “Man must seek in his own higher nature for the highest gifts: and these are dignity, wisdom, and virtue. By dignity, I mean free will, whereby he not only excels all other earthly creatures, but has dominion over them. Wisdom is the power whereby he recognizes this dignity and perceives also that it is no accomplishment of his own. And virtue impels man to seek eagerly for him who is man’s source and to lay fast hold on him when he has been found. Dignity without wisdom is useless, and wisdom without virtue is accursed.”
These individuals who believe they are their own god, masters of their destiny, will one day realize that He who is piloting the ship is going to bring it into a port they will in no wise want to disembark at, yet they will have no choice. It takes so small of a problem for many of them to see that in reality they have so very little control over their lives here, but when our Lord shows them the blessings that He shows both the lost and the saved, they will not listen, much less when He sends tribulation into their lives. They will seek everywhere for solace and an answer but to Him.
The proof positive is not only given to us by examples in the Scriptures, but in the world around us every day. Many there are that look to those that rule, as it were, certain areas of this planet. Think on, if you will, the massive crowds that gather together for major political events, musical concerts, or meetings that are meant to draw attention to a particular cause. Many thousands are drawn to events like these nearly every day somewhere on this earth, and in each of them, generally speaking, there is one person, one individual who is lifted up, set apart from the others to be praised, to be glorified, to be counted worthy to not only be emulated but followed. The crowd, both as a whole and individually has made this man their god.
I cannot explain properly what goes on in the mind of a man when he comes to the conclusion that he alone is no longer the best and most worthy person to follow, this person on the stage in front of him now is. He has decided that the purpose that he had set for the course of his life is no longer as valid as he thought, not as worthy as the one he now desires to emulate. As a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ I can understand my commitment to Christ, but the longer I am being sanctified, the more difficult it is for me to understand giving fealty to any man. (Jer. 17:5)
The same ideology is happening all around the world today in the religious realm, in fact it started in the garden when Satan coerced our parents into following his ideas instead of God’s. There are religious organizations that have individuals in them who give higher honors to those that are seemingly ‘closer’ to God than they are. Many of these are easy to spot, for as one moves up the “spiritual ladder” the garbs worn become more and more elaborate, implying a relationship to God that you have not attained to, and probably never will. These at the top are bowed down to, edified in the minds of their congregations as holier than they, they are made into little gods by participants who are not searching the Scriptures for themselves, and in fact are encouraged not to by the hierarchy of the organization. The ones at the top are to be the only ones trusted in expounding the Words of the Book to the masses.
Some of these religious organizations are not so easy to spot, for Satan is, and always has been, extremely subtle, and words can so easily be manipulated. All those that continue to attend these institutions, these false church’s, are seeking the same thing, someone to lead them, and if those attending are not discerning, are not seeking the Scriptures daily, much less after each service to “test the spirits,” (1st John 4:1) they will be led astray, the will be the “blind being led by the blind.” (Matt.15:14)
Several years ago a statement was made by one of the speakers at the United Nations. I cannot recall the speakers name, nor the words that were delivered verbatim, but the essence was that the world was waiting for a man to lead it into an era of peace and prosperity. That man is coming, my friends, but as I am sure you are aware, he is no man. If there was anyone ever created that can write his little letter ‘g’ just a bit larger than anyone else, it will be this individual. I have many ideas, many conjectures, if you will, about why the whole world will wonder after this individual, and perhaps in a letter to you someday I will expound my theories. Suffice it to say, the world will get what it wants, a leader to follow, to emulate, to lift up, but they will soon discover the depths both he and they will be brought down to by the only one who signs His Name with a capital G.
Every single person in one form or another, wants someone to lead them, to show them a path to follow, to give their life purpose and meaning, and there have been many throughout history who have been more than willing to do that for them. Nimrod, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, The Caesars, Presidents, Chancellors, religious leaders, all have been willing to lead, and for many that would not follow, the consequences were, and still are, dire. None of them have or will ever be able to offer anything but what this world has to offer, and though they may extend promises of eternity, even if their paths are followed explicitly, they offer no guarantees, nor will any of their promises come to pass.
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)
There is one worth following, brothers and sisters, one who has not only been there, but created all that there is. He knows the way, for He is the way, He knows what the truth is, for He is the truth, He knows what all of life is about, for He is the life. “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) Take His hand, for He offers it in love, go with Him, no matter where He leads you in this life, for in the life to come He wants to introduce you to His Father, the only One who signs His Name with a capital G.
