When I visited Myanmar a few years ago, there were very impressive gold Buddhas everywhere and with them being so large, it would be easy to believe that there would be something mystical about them. And they were everywhere. However, down one side street, I saw the makings of these Buddhas and it was a shock to see so many of them in various stages of being carved, on the footpath, by ordinary people. Not having experienced this before, it came as a shock to see these half finished statues which people would one day worship, or use in worship. How could people possibly worship something so lifeless and carved by mere people?
It is good to experience different cultures and have experiences which make one think. Apart from seeing statues in the process of being made and the impact that had on me, the other thing which made me stop and think was how gentle, kind and thoughtful the Myanmar people were. The Buddhist philosophy and their culture certainly have a very positive influence on their society. Shouldn’t Christianity have the same effect?
But what of the WOW factor? Reading Isaiah chapter 45 reminded me of the experience described above and how sad it is to see people worship man made images. “I am the Lord and there is no god........so they may know there is no one beside me. I am the Lord and there is no other......I made the earth and created people...it was my hands which stretched out the heavens.....I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right.”
Those verses make it so clear as to who our God is. In this day of politically correct speak and waffling bureaucrats/politicians who choose not to give direct answers, I found this chapter so refreshing. God makes it very very clear as to who he is and his role in creating this world. Later we read “ I the Lord am your Saviour and your Redeemer.” Another WOW!
Recently I read in a comment that as children we sang choruses such as ‘My God is so Big’ etc, but as we grow older, it is easy for our God to become smaller as we learn to worry and stress. Isaiah reminds us very clearly that our God is in fact ‘big’, so big that he is the only God. He created this world in which we live.
So let’s not forget the WOW factor of our God.
It is good to experience different cultures and have experiences which make one think. Apart from seeing statues in the process of being made and the impact that had on me, the other thing which made me stop and think was how gentle, kind and thoughtful the Myanmar people were. The Buddhist philosophy and their culture certainly have a very positive influence on their society. Shouldn’t Christianity have the same effect?
But what of the WOW factor? Reading Isaiah chapter 45 reminded me of the experience described above and how sad it is to see people worship man made images. “I am the Lord and there is no god........so they may know there is no one beside me. I am the Lord and there is no other......I made the earth and created people...it was my hands which stretched out the heavens.....I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right.”
Those verses make it so clear as to who our God is. In this day of politically correct speak and waffling bureaucrats/politicians who choose not to give direct answers, I found this chapter so refreshing. God makes it very very clear as to who he is and his role in creating this world. Later we read “ I the Lord am your Saviour and your Redeemer.” Another WOW!
Recently I read in a comment that as children we sang choruses such as ‘My God is so Big’ etc, but as we grow older, it is easy for our God to become smaller as we learn to worry and stress. Isaiah reminds us very clearly that our God is in fact ‘big’, so big that he is the only God. He created this world in which we live.
So let’s not forget the WOW factor of our God.
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