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Poor
Substitutes
In
1991, the Japanese government sought a way to attract
endangered albatrosses to the small Izu islands to
breed and reproduce. The Yamashina Institute of
Ornithology came up with the idea of placing some 100
wooden albatross decoys in the water to help attract
the birds to the islands that are some 375 miles south
of Tokyo.
The
project for the most part worked well and the
endangered birds have landed on the islands and
breeding has increased.
But
for Deko, a 5-year-old albatross, the experiment went
awry. For two years he tried to woo what he believed
to be the love of his life. He built her fancy nests,
fought off rival suitors, and spent countless days
standing faithfully by her side. But his one-and-only
was a man-made decoy -- and despite the blank stare
and wooden personality, he didn't catch on.
Institute
researcher Fumio Sato worries that Deko's infatuation
with the decoy kept him from meeting a mate. "He
seemed to have no desire to date real birds,"
Sato observed.*
Deko
is not the only one that has set his heart on inferior
substitutes…
YOU
and I were created to worship God.
We were made “to seek the Lord, in the hope that [WE] might grope for Him and
find Him, though He is not far from each one of us”
(Acts 17:26-27).
Yet,
so many direct their affections to lesser
alternatives.
This is idolatry!
An IDOL is an object,
person or pursuit we look to for fulfillment,
happiness, significance or comfort other than God; it
is a God-substitute.
The
Psalmist described the idols that people worshiped in
his day:
“Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's
hands. They have mouths, but
they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not
see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they
have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they
do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who
MAKE them are LIKE them; So is everyone who trusts
in them” (Psalm 115:4-8).
No idol is worthy of our worship.
All idols will disappoint us – and will
eventually DESTROY us – in the end.
The
Psalmist directed his peers to the One True God:
“O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and
their shield” (Psalm 115:9).
Only God is worthy of our worship, because of
who He is, what He has done, and for what He will do.
He is the Heavenly Father who loves us so much
that He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our
sins (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Through His Son, we may have the abundant life
and eternal life to come.
The
Living God will give life to those who: believe
and trust
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38). Eternal
life awaits those who CONTINUE to follow Him (1 John
1:7) by walking in the light of His Word.
Don’t
settle for poor substitutes.
Trust and obey the One True Living God.
God bless you!
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Peter Kennedy in The
Sermon Illustrator
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