Skip to main content

Missing the Point

"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity Should I be consulted by them at all?" Ezekiel 14:3

I like symbols. For the most part, they bring about good memories. I love a good pumpkin because it stirs in me the longing for cool crisp air, falling leaves, and the holiday season. Each year, my husband and I drag the boys out to the Christmas tree farm in honor of Clark Griswold and chop down our family Christmas tree. I also love to hang my flag outside my home proudly every chance I get. Symbols are useful tools. They evoke emotion and nostalgia. Sometimes symbols bring pain and hurt. The cross is an example of both. You cannot think of the cross without remembering pain. Nor, can you remember the cross and without experiencing such great hope. But, if I get too fixated on the cross, a symbol I hold so dear, I lose sight on the most important part of my faith story: Jesus. It's really not about the cross. That symbol was just a means to the end. It's all about Jesus and I don't want to miss him because I'm too busy looking at a symbol.

We can get caught up in symbols. We look to symbols as our identity, guide, center. They weren't meant to live in that space, though. Symbols are just that: a sign or representation of something else. Symbols were not meant to become idols. Yet, they so easily do.

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32: 2-4

The people of Israel in the Old Testament were a hot mess. Moses was on a mountain having a moment with God in regards to these people and they got impatient. So, they decide to create their own "god" with the help of Moses' brother, Aaron. Aaron fashions a golden calf out of the gold they had. This sounds ridiculous and I think we can all shake our heads at them. I mean, I love me a cute little cow but I am surely not going to worship one.

BUT...this is SO us. We idolize symbols. And when we idolize symbols, we forget about the people.

Behind all this controversy over symbols in our nation I see people: a people hurting and souls that are lost. The symbol is the least of my worries at this point. I see hurting, broken, desperate individuals wanting to be heard. And, albeit they may not go about getting their point across the best way, I don't get to choose or tell them how to express their pain. I just don't. It's like when someone comes to you and let's you know you've hurt them some way. You know you never intended to hurt them. However, on their end, something you did caused them strife. You don't get to tell them how to feel or not feel in that moment. You just get to apologize.

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

How easily Eve was deceived. She was distracted by the serpent by getting her attention focused on what she couldn't have: the fruit. The fruit was a symbol of knowledge. He got her hyper-focused on a symbol and got her to partake thus, leading Adam to do the same.

Our eyes are fixed on symbols and we are missing the people. People are kneeling, crying, lashing out not because of a symbol. They are hurting. They are broken. They just want to be heard. It's high-time we set the symbols down and pick up the wounded souls that are before them.

When I see the protest of symbols I see the people. I see the souls. Souls longing to be found, to matter, to be heard. Life is not a compilation of symbols. Rather, life is about people.

Fall will still arrive even if I don't get my pumpkins in time. Christmas will still come even if we don't chop down that tree. My freedom still rings even if I forget to hang my flag. It's not the symbol that matters. It is the people.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Love & Blessings,
Meg

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Holy

I can't stop singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty." Scott and I went to the "big" ultrasound today where we tested to see if our baby had Down's, one of the Trisomy disorders, or any neural tube defects. I must admit the palms were a little sweaty and the heart was racing a bit. As surreal as this pregnancy is, I don't want anything to be wrong with this precious life inside of me. Well, holy is right. The Lord is not just good; He is awesome! Our little baby instantly began moving and grooving for us showing off fingers and toes and a great heart beat! Even though I am on my third, watching the miracle of life on that screen NEVER gets old! It truly blows my mind every time I get to see our precious angels developing inside of me! The scan came out wonderfully. We got all positives on all the scans the doctor (who was absolutely INCREDIBLE) could do. Now we just wait for some blood work to confirm that everything is okay with our little boy. ...

Tuesday Toddler Tales~A Mother's Worst Nightmare

I lost Jack. Don't worry, he has been found but for the longest I'd say 8 minutes of my life he was gone. I was at the mall with two girlfriends and their kiddos. We were all having lunch at the food court when I stepped away to get some ketchup. Jack stayed behind with his friends. I was gone for maybe a minute and a half or so. When I came back he was gone. His chair was pushed in and empty. I began to panic. One friend stayed behind with all the other kids while my other friend and I darted off in oposite directions. Others began to notice our panic and jumped in the search with us. I saw nothing in my direction, not even shoppers. I turned around and started the other way. I got to the carousel where I thought he'd be and he wasn't. At this point it took everything in my power not to faint. I felt like everything around me was spinning. I was so overwhelmed with where to look. I just kept running, frantically asking people if they saw a little blond-haired boy with ...

Notoriety

Teenage Mother A donkey owner Simon of Cyrene Who are these people? I am sure you can figure out the first one: Mary the mother of Jesus. Who are the others and what do all three of these people have in common? They all did extraordinary things but, for the most part, went unseen. Do you ever feel unseen? Undervalued? I do. I try not to get caught up in that space, but I find myself there too often. While Mary is infamous today, she wasn't when she brought the King into this world. She was a teenager who gave birth in a barn. She was an outcast who was pregnant but not married. She told of an unbelievable story involving an angel, a Spirit, and a Savior who was going to save the world. Could you even imagine? It's easy for us to be in awe of Mary. We know the whole story. She didn't. And neither did the people around her. She had to live it. To top it all off, she had to watch her beloved son die a gruesome death. Talk about feeling unseen and undervalued. She faithfu...