In making this world the Lord has created it to function in certain ways. The same way with people. God has made people to have fellowship with him, to seek out truth, to listen to God's voice, to wonder at what he has done. It's simply the way we are made.
One of the ways sin influences this world is that people seek to have fellowship just with themselves, to seek out their own ideas only, to listen to their own voices, and to wonder at what they have done. In short, we seek to replace God with ourselves. Today's readings confront that idea. Rather than having a world created and sustained by us, we are to realize that there is a world created and sustained by God, who has made all things to work together in an orderly manner.
1 John 5.21 warns us to protect ourselves against idols. What kind of idols are rising up in our lives today? Do we seek to have something other than God on the throne? Do we give glory to someone who is not worthy of glory? Do we exalt ourselves and our wisdom? Do we live to have our own way rather than God's way? Do we seek to rearrange the order God has appointed to this world? If we are doing this, maybe we'd like to figure out a way to redeem the world and get it all to serve us? Maybe we think we can sustain the world by our own power or goodness? Maybe we think we could fix everything if we were only God for a few days?
These idolatrous ideas bring ruin. They attempt to overthrow what the God of all wisdom and grace has created and is sustaining. Let us flee those ideas and throw ourselves on the mercy of Christ, who will teach us in his way to love our neighbors for his sake. Let us look to Christ to change our character and desires. And let us rejoice in his mercy and love.
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