Accessory God

If the Bible is true, then we live in a world created by and for God. Everything, including us, belongs to him. No exceptions. He is the reason everything exists, the One that holds everything together, THE most important, most comprehensive, most glorious Being, and our supreme, sovereign Authority.

So why do so many believers live as though God is merely a bit player on the stage of our lives? Like he is an accessory to our self-controlled existence, free to put on or take off as needed?

The complete disregard of God by unbelievers is frustrating, but more frustrating still is the way so many professing Christians effectively ignore him except on a very superficial level with Sunday services and mealtime prayers. We (I am also guilty of this) go about our days and nights as virtual masters of our own destiny with self-appointed rights of determination and merely a passing thought at best of what the Owner of all that is might have to say about it.

It’s a testimony to God’s love and mercy that he allows us to live like this. But surely we are missing out on blessings that a proper recognition of God’s total sovereignty would likely bring.

It’s not difficult to imagine and comprehend the way our autonomous behavior is seen by God. All we need do is picture ourselves as the parent of a house(that we built)ful of kids who may actually behave pretty well but ignore us except when they want something. These individuals exist because of us, were given everything they own (or think they do) by us, would die of starvation without us, and are loved immensely by us. But though they believe we exist, they act as if we really don’t matter. They go about their daily lives unconcerned with what we may expect of them, resolved to do things their way. They take their gifts and blessings for granted and complain about what they don’t have. They join us at the table for Sunday dinner but only talk amongst themselves, when their thoughts aren’t on the activity they have planned for later.

And though they claim to be part of the family of which we are the head, they rarely talk to us, unless they’ve gotten themselves in a bind or otherwise need some help. Our love for them motivates us to continue working for their good but we rarely hear sincere expressions of gratitude, and even more rarely expressions of love.

We are an accessory to their lives, instead of their very life’s blood. And so often, this is our attitude towards God.

Brothers and sisters, this should not be so.

This was originally posted in June, 2012.