Many gods or ONE?

A friend of mine just returned from her spiritual pilgrimage toNew Delhi, India.

She told me of her journey of pain up to four differenthigh places to appease four different gods.

At one point she hiked 18 miles.She said that some carry others up the steepinclines piggy-back style;some are carried in chairs,but most climb on their own.

“The point is to suffer,” she said.“I was one of the few that made it to the top of all four.”

She was proud of her accomplishment,and I was touched that she feltcomfortable enough to share her experience with me.

We have been friends for a few years, and we learned long ago torespect each others religious beliefs. I learn from her and she learns from me.We rejoice in our commonalities and discuss our differences.

I am a passionate follower ofJesus Christandbelieve He alone is the door to salvation.

She believes all gods are doorsthat take you to the same destination.

We respect each other’s right to follow theirown belief and so our friendship remains.

But her suffering and climbing mountains toappease various gods made me so sad.

If only she knewJesus. How much He loves her.How He is the one who created her.And that He would never, ever askher to suffer just to appease his anger.

I almost told her so today when we spoke,but I don’t think she’s ready to hearme say those words to her yet.

So until then, I will keep praying to Jesus for her.And I will ask Him to prepare her heartand mind to receive the truthof His unconditional love and mercy.

Jesus says:

“Come unto me, all ye that labourand are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28)

In fact, Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice whenHe allowed himself to be crucified on the cross sothat the rest of us could have freedom and forgivenessfor all the wrong things we have done. (Read Hebrews 9:21-23)

And if we as Christ followers do suffer or havehard times in our lives we are promisedby Jesus that He will never allowus to go through more than we can handle(I Corinthians 10:13)and that everything –even the bad things will work towardsa good outcome for us.(Romans 8:28)

“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyondthe course of what others have had to face.All you need to remember is that God will neverlet you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past yourlimit; he’ll always be there to help youcome through it.”(I Corinthians 10:13, The Message)

^“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting,God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.He does our praying in and for us, making prayer outof our wordless sighs, our aching groans.He knows us far better than we know ourselves,knows our pregnant condition, and keeps uspresent before God. That’s why we can beso sure that every detail in our lives of love forGod is worked into something good.”

(Romans 8: 26-28 The Message)

The Holy Bible tells us that the prophet Elijah lived in a time when many people served other gods.Elijah wanted to prove to them that Jehovah was theonly true and most powerful God so he challenged the prophetsof Baal to a showdown. You can read the full Biblical account in1 Kings 18:24-39.

Here is how The Messagetranslation explains what happened:

“Then Elijah said,I’m the only prophet ofGodleft in Israel;and there are 450 prophets of Baal.Let the Baal prophets bring up two oxen;let them pick one, butcher it, and lay it outon an altar on firewood—but don’t ignite it.I’ll take the other ox, cut it up, and lay it on the wood. But neither will I light the fire.Then you pray to your gods and I’ll pray toGod.The god who answers with fire will prove to be, in fact, God.”

All the people agreed: “A good plan—do it!”

Elijah told the Baal prophets,“Choose your ox and prepare it.You go first, you’re the majority.Then pray to your god, but don’t light the fire.”

So they took the ox he had given them,prepared it for the altar, then prayed to Baal.They prayed all morning long, “O Baal, answer us!”But nothing happened—not so much as a whisper of breeze.Desperate, they jumped and stomped on the altar they had made.

By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting,“Call a little louder—he is a god, after all.Maybe he’s off meditating somewhere or other,or maybe he’s gotten involved in a project,or maybe he’s on vacation. You don’t supposehe’s overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?”They prayed louder and louder,cutting themselves with swords and knives—a ritual common to them—until they were covered with blood.

This went on until well past noon.They used every religious trick and strategy they knew tomake something happen on the altar, but nothing happened—not so much as a whisper, not a flicker of response.

Then Elijah told the people, “Enough of that—it’s my turn. Gather around.” And they gathered.He then put the altar back together for bynow it was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones,one for each of the tribes of Jacob, the sameJacob to whomGodhad said,

“From now on your name is Israel.”He built the stones into the altar in honor ofGod.Then Elijah dug a fairly wide trench around the altar.He laid firewood on the altar, cut up the ox,put it on the wood, and said,“Fill four buckets with water and drenchboth the ox and the firewood.”Then he said, “Do it again,”and they did it.Then he said,

“Do it a third time,”and they did it a third time.The altar was drenched and the trench was filled with water.

When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered,Elijah the prophet came up and prayed,“OGod, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,make it known right now that you are God in Israel,that I am your servant, and that I’m doing whatI’m doing under your orders.

Answer me,God;O answer me and reveal to thispeople that you areGod,the true God, and that you are givingthese people another chance at repentance.”

Immediately the fire ofGodfell and burnedup the offering, the wood, the stones,the dirt, and even the water in the trench.

All the people saw it happen and fell on their facesin awed worship, exclaiming,“Godis the true God!Godis the true God!”

What about you?

Do you believe in Jehovah God whose name is Jesus?

Do you serve another god, or perhaps no god at all?

What role do your religious beliefs play in your life?

Do you have friends of other faiths? How do you interact with them?

Let’s talk.
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