Not Much Of An Alternative

I truly believe there’s a home-shaped hole in each human heart that only God can fill. Unfortunately, many attempt to fill that hole with other things. In today’s post, I want to explore the alternative of what life is like when we choose not to make Christ our home.

ALTERNATIVE: ESTRANGEMENT

Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols, in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.”’ -Ezekiel 14:4-5

Idolatry has been a snare for mankind since the beginning of time. It was part of the devil’s temptation in the garden of Eden–the temptation to follow our own ways rather than God’s ways. We are made to worship, but if we choose not to make God the object of our worship, other things will take His rightful place. That is idolatry.

Lest we believers think we’re immune to this malady, consider this scripture:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

‘But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” -Matthew 15:8-9

Jesus spoke these words against the religious leaders of Israel. We can think and assume that we are following God, but our hearts still be far from Him. We are capable of worshiping Him in vain and teaching the traditions of our forefathers rather than God’s Word. That’s why it is so vitally important to stay connected to the Vine, to seek His face moment by moment, and to immerse ourselves in His Word. We must continually search our hearts to make sure that we haven’t inadvertently strayed.

ALTERNATIVE: EMPTINESS

Is there any word so sad as ‘empty?’ It screams of futility. Other than the empty tomb which signified our Savior’s living reign over sin and death, the word isn’t pleasant.

Emptiness  is often used in the Bible to describe those who willfully practice idolatry.

Thus says the Lord, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty?” -Jeremiah 2:5

Behold, all of them arefalse; Their works are worthless, Their molten images are wind and emptiness. -Isaiah 41:29

In Christ, we have fulness of life; without Him, life is empty.

ALTERNATIVE: EXCLUSION

Those who follow God are included, adopted into His family and fellowship with Him. But the opposite of inclusion is exclusion, and it is a sad reality for those not abiding in Christ.

Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. -Ephesians 2:12

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; -Ephesians 4:17-18

ALTERNATIVE: ENMITY

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. -Romans 8:6-8

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. -James 4:4

There is no middle ground, no neutrality when it comes to Christ. It’s an all-or-nothing kind of deal. Either we’re on God’s side or we’re against Him. If we’re not following His Spirit within us, we’re following the world and the flesh, both of which are enmity against God.

CONCLUSION

I certainly didn’t wake up this morning bent on writing a post that at first glance seems so negative, but sometimes the best way to show light in a painting is to contrast it with dark. That is my hope with this post. I pray that we can all see the blessedness of following Christ and abiding in Him rather than living  a life of estrangement, emptiness, exclusion, and enmity. More importantly, I pray it spurs us on to reach out to a lost and dying world. To me this alternative to life in Christ can be summed up with one word: hell.

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