1 Kings 18:17-21 (NIV) 17 When
he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 “I
have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s
family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s
commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people
from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at
Jezebel’s table.” 20 So
Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount
Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long
will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord
is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But
the people said nothing.
The temptation to include other gods was a constant
temptation for the people of Israel. Most of their neighbors had more than one
god, and often it appeared to the people of Israel that the one God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob was not enough. Into this arena of indecision came the voice
of the prophet Elijah. How
long will you waver between two opinions?
Do you feel the temptation to seek the popular gods
of this world? Is Jesus Christ the central, most important source of influence
in your life or are you caught in the middle, knowing that the false gods do you
no lasting good yet reluctant to let Christ be Lord of it all? Do you fear He
is not enough - that somehow you will suffer? It is as if we pray “Lord, I want
to follow you, but first…” So it happens that we all sometimes choose “Jesus …
and.”
How long will we go on limping between two
opinions? That is the price we pay for our indecision, we simply limp through
life, crippled, robbed of living life to the fullest. We pay a price for our
indecision. We rob ourselves, and we cheat ourselves.
Jesus is a beautiful picture of the jealousy of
God. He will not allow us to try to follow Him and someone else. Jesus has the
right to tell us to go our own way until we can decide what we really want,
because He faced that difficult decision Himself of choosing what He would do
for us. He wrestled with that question in the Garden of Gethsemane, but He
didn’t wrestle with it indefinitely. He made up His mind to do what He had been
sent to do and gave Himself up for us on the Cross, totally and completely. He
made His decision and now He asks us to make ours. This is the one great
decision that determines all other decisions we will ever be called on to make.
How long will we go on limping between two
opinions? Is Jesus Christ enough for us? If the Lord be God then follow
Him.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope June 30,
1985
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)
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