Daily Devotional for Wednesday, July 9

The Clarification

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of who are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by who are all things, and we by him,” 1 Corinthians 8:6.

“Warning: Not Intended for Highway Use:” a label on a new wheelbarrow. Some things we should know without being told. Somewhere along the way, though, somebody took the wheelbarrow on the road,  thinking it was a good idea.

Spiritually, some warnings or instructions should be common sense, as well. Verse 4 in our text can be a bit more difficult than it appears at first glance, “An idol is nothing in the world.” That seems so clear. The Old Testament often mocked the idea of idols. The idol maker chops down a tree, shapes some of it to worship it and then throws the rest in the fire to warm himself. Only a fool would do this. Our passage likewise speaks of only one God. Idols are nothing.

But there is something, some force, behind idols. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak of demons as an energizing force behind idols and their worship (Deuteronomy 32:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:20). You do not mess around with idols because you do not mess around with demons. Idols are nothing; idols are something. Both warnings seem obvious, and they seem contradictory, yet they are both true. Paul’s point seems to be this: idols have no power over us because we are under the one true God. But do not mess around with them; they operate with demonic backing.

Use the wheelbarrow in the garden, and you will be fine. Use it as transport at sixty-five miles per hour on the highway, and you will have trouble. In other words, the believer is safe from the power and pull of idols and demons as long as we stick close to Jesus. If we decide to mess with either of those, there could be a problem.

REFLECTION

Our power rests in our proximity to Jesus. Stick close.

Jason Rutherford