The Golden Calves and the Lamb of God

God invites us constantly to evaluate the direction we are taking in life and with it, and the necessary prayer, (as to remember our identity) to redirect the steps so as not to get away from Him. We are propitious to melt golden calves and attribute powers to them that only God possesses. The loving and merciful God yearns for total devotion. In this sense God is totalitarian for our good, omnipotent, has no rival. He gave us freedom with Christ and at times we seem like slaves, as if we have not yet been freed from spiritual Egypt. Pharaoh chases us and God continues to part the waters; we crossed the sea of (God's) trials and temptations in our tracks and attributed the miracle to the abilities of our feet in running to save ourselves from destruction. Or maybe the golden calf.

Find the golden calf that you have melted to seek direction in your life, and crumble it like Moses did. Make it dust (Exodus 32.10) and give God the glory. Take a good look around you, because Pharaoh will try to chase you once again, not to hurt you, but to get you drunk with his promises of easy profit if you build altars to your golden calf. The Christian who feels persecuted has the opportunity to glory in the Lord. And indeed, all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3.12).

Jesus is the way and the direction (there are no others), but Pharaoh still hopes to submit us with a plan that seems attractive, naive and even legitimate for the children of God: to melt a golden calf to depend on him and not on God; adore him, long for him, enthrone him as if he were the true sustainer.

This game can be fatal for those who claim to love God and seek in the lottery or in the "ball" (as they say in my country) the immediate solution to the "delay" of God's fulfillment of his promise to provide for the needs of your children. Sadly, many Christians have made gambling their golden calf. Warning: gambling will inevitably lead you away from God. If you decide to obey your emotions, you will miss out on seeing the glory of God.

Others might look for his practicing golden calf that the one true God hates. God warned his people through Moses: "Let not be found in you ... who practices divination, or sorcery, or who is an ominous, or a sorcerer, or an enchanter, or a fortune-teller, or a spiritist, or whoever consults the dead" (Dt 18.10-11). In the world we call evangelical, erroneous and fraudulent subcultures have developed with "prophets" whose revelations point only to their own carnal passions and in no way honor the eternal word of God. On these Pharaohs of the XXI century, the church of the living God must alert. They have been erected as golden calves for a humble people who arrive at the feet of Christ with the inevitable burden of centuries-old traditions and theological confusions typical of popular piety.

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:36) who takes away the sin of the world. It is not the golden calf. Constantly evaluate yourself before God. It will not be wasted time. You can still, with God's help, correct the course. We must be attentive to the pharaohs who besiege us with their chariots and horses and put our trust in Jesus. The psalmist said it: “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Ps 20.7). Flee the temptation to melt golden calves (search your cares for what they can only find in God) to live an abundant life. Or golden calf or supplier Lamb. God does not play the lottery. He owns gold and silver (Haggai 2.8) and knows what we need.

God bless you!