"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
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
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