Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21 NIV
Idols
Back in 2021, after a wait of over 100 years, an 18th century idol of Goddess Annapurna stolen from Varanasi and illegally taken to Canada was returned to the Uttar Pradesh government. To mark the moment, an event was organized at the National Gallery of Modern Art. Brought back with the help of Archaeological Survey of India, the idol would be placed inside Kashi Vishwanath temple. The idol arrived back in Varanasi on November 15.
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There is within the heart of every man, woman and child a longing for relationship with their Creator. The entire narrative of the Bible is explaining where that longing comes from and how God has been meeting that need. Ultimately, by sending Jesus into our world to wipe away the sin that divides us from Him and filling our lives with His presence and peace. Those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Him, have experienced that peace. Those who have not heard of Jesus and His love, seek for that peace in so many other ways. Some of the most common are by creating their own gods which are shaped by hands and then worshipped. It shows the depth of longing. But these idols are useless – the Bible says they are no gods at all. So it shouldn’t surprise us that 1 John 5:21 says, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” While literal idolatry is increasing in our country, most of the idols Canadians have are not created by hand – they are whatever we place above Jesus in our lives. We need to regularly take inventory of our lives and if there are idols, they need to be removed.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley