No Idols

A few years ago I visited a friend whose best friend died. She gave me a tour of her house and finally her eyes landed on a beautiful Indian figurine. She said, "This is my Indian goddess, and I pray to her every day."

I couldn't imagine anyone praying to a wooden figurine. I said to my friend, "She's lovely, but she cannot see you with her eyes or hear your prayers with her ears. She cannot speak to you with her mouth and she has no power to help you."

"But I can see her and touch her. She's real to me," my friend said.

The second commandment says we are not to make or worship idols. Do you have a friend like mine who trusts in something other than the One True God? I tried to tell my friend there is more truth and reality in things we cannot see than in things we can see.  Sometimes our idols don't look like Indian figurines. They look like anything that comes between us and trusting God. All we can do for our friends is show them love and pray for them.

Lord Jesus, I pray for those who don't know you or trust you. Send them a word or someone to soften their hearts and show them their need for you in their lives. Amen.