Counterfeit Gods: Part 2 - All You've Ever Wanted

Hello All,

May God continue to reveal the counterfeit gods of your heart in the words of today’s poem.

Counterfeit Gods: Part 2 - All You've Ever Wanted

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (8^th April 2013)

Abraham walked up the mountain with his son

With painful steps he chose to obey God's command

To sacrifice Isaac, the child of God's promise

His beloved treasure he sadly released

Isaac was the morning star of Abraham's life

The long awaited child of his once barren wife

His hopes and dreams were vested in his little boy

Whose very existence brought him much pride and joy

Abraham built an altar and laid some wood there

He bound Isaac and then laid him down with great care

He reached for his knife, drew it and raised it up high

His hands trembled as tears flowed freely from his eyes

But God's angel called out 'Abraham, Abraham!'

So Abraham turned around and said 'Here I am'

'Slay not your son for I know you fear God truly

As you have not withheld your only son from me'

In place of Isaac, the Lord provided a ram

This sacrifice pointed to Christ, the perfect Lamb

Who lovingly paid the penalty for our sins

Now we can find pardon and fulfillment in him

Just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice

His precious only son whom he so highly prized

God the Father withheld not his son, Jesus Christ

Who gave us his all, for our sins he paid the price

What are the things you are holding on tightly to?

Have they become idols which are consuming you?

True satisfaction can be found in Christ alone

Let him instead be your center and cornerstone

Points for Reflection:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son (Hebrews 11:17)

·         Abraham’s act of offering his only son, Isaac as a sacrifice was a picture that pointed forward to the will of God the Father to offer his only Son, Jesus Christ, as a once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

·         Abraham believed that God would somehow raise Isaac from the dead and although the angel prevented him from slaying his son, the fulfillment of this was seen in the ultimate resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

He [Abraham] considered that God was able even to raise him [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:19)

·         If God was willing to sacrifice his only Son, Jesus Christ, for unworthy sinners like us, should not this knowledge fill our hearts with overflowing joy, gratitude and purpose? However, our sinful hearts are always so prone to wander away from God and seek fulfillment and meaning in some other things.

·         In your heart of hearts, who or what do you yearn for? Is that person or thing all that you have ever wanted in life? How often and how much time does that idol occupy your thoughts and daydreams? How far would you go to obtain it?

·         Do you ever think to yourself ‘If only this person I care so much about would return my affection, my life would be worth living’ or ‘If only this company would offer me my dream job, true happiness will be mine’ or ‘If only I could have eternal beauty and youth, I will be complete’ or ‘If only I could make it rich without a single drop of sweat, life would be mine to enjoy to the full and I would have no need to face the frustrations of my job’?

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

·         My friends, the only person who is able to bring true fulfillment is Jesus. The things of this world would only bring short-lived happiness which would never truly quench our thirst for life’s meaning.

·         Come and drink from the everlasting fount of Jesus Christ who is truly all that we actually need. Lay your idols at his feet and as the days go by, may he become all that you have ever wanted.