Idols

Shine, Jesus, Shine!

Published July 19, 2012 | By Daphne

I was reading in the book of Daniel this morning–the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If you don’t know the story, three Hebrew boys refuse to bow down to the King’s gold statue, so King Neb (as I like to call him) throws them in a furnace. Ultimately, God saves the three boys for putting Him first and refusing to bow to any idols.

Although I’ve known this story since I was a little girl, something stood out to me this time.

Society daily prompts us to take our eyes off Jesus. The pressures of “Everybody’s doing it” or “Everybody has it” might be glaringly obvious or way more subtle. One thing’s for sure, practically anything has a potential to become an idol, and the attractiveness of it gleams brightly—just like the gold statue. It was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. We don’t have gold statues hanging around our homes, but we might have other things that could very easily gleam as brightly:

Food
Technology
Relationships
Cars
Movies, songs, and other forms of entertainment
Dare I say, social media.

Unlike the gold statue, these “things” aren’t necessarily evil. In fact, I like these “things.” I’m sure you do too. But liking and worshiping are two different things.

Could it be that we are knowingly–or unknowingly—giving in to peer pressure, diverting our eyes off Jesus, and fixing them onto these not-so-obvious shiny idols?
Could it be that the lures of the “new and improved,” “the latest and greatest,” and “constant connectivity” have so captivated us that although we focus more and more of our attention on them, we still can’t seem to fill the longing inside of us?

Our idols may gleam for a while, dear one, but inevitably, they start to lose their luster. For some of us, we may already see their brightness disappearing. I’m sure the gold statue didn’t shine brightly for long.

Let us vow not to bow except to the One who deserves all our adoration and admiration—Jesus. He might not be popular, but He alone deserves our ultimate attention and affection. He is our light (Psalm 27:1), and He outshines anything that threatens to take His place (Psalm 76:4). Jesus will never lose His luster–He will be our everlasting light (Isaiah 60:19). Jesus—only Jesus—is bright and beautiful (2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalm 80:19). Jesus—“the brightness of the Father’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3).

Jesus–the Light of the world (John 9:5).