Acts 14:15 "Friends,why are you doing this? We are merely human beings-just like you!
I have known some captivating people in my life. People who were very inspirational. People who could move me out of my comfort zone. People who could pull me into realities I never imagined for myself. People who have comforted me in the darkest of times. I know some pretty outstanding ordinary people as well. People who day by day live out the good news everyday. People who make a difference in small ways by being who God created them to be. I have never mistaken the captivating or the ordinary people for God. That would be idol worship.
This very thing happens to Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. People mistake them for the greek gods Zeus and Hermes. It got me thinking about the level in which some colleagues of mine have been lifted to super star status. Nadia Boltz Weber, a lutheran rock star pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver Colorado, was in the same mission developers training I was in 2008. When people talk about her, they view her in a kind of god-like status. I know her as a faithful person who was trying to figure out being the person God called her to be and share the love of Jesus with some very weird people.
We do this with pastors. We do this with CEO (think Steve Jobs). We do this with athletes. People are often surprised to find out that these people are ordinary, people....just like you!
To confuse them with God confuses what we think about God. AND I'm sure if you asked them, they would not want God's job.
We are called to witness to God not to be God or even mistaken for God.
I have known some captivating people in my life. People who were very inspirational. People who could move me out of my comfort zone. People who could pull me into realities I never imagined for myself. People who have comforted me in the darkest of times. I know some pretty outstanding ordinary people as well. People who day by day live out the good news everyday. People who make a difference in small ways by being who God created them to be. I have never mistaken the captivating or the ordinary people for God. That would be idol worship.
This very thing happens to Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. People mistake them for the greek gods Zeus and Hermes. It got me thinking about the level in which some colleagues of mine have been lifted to super star status. Nadia Boltz Weber, a lutheran rock star pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver Colorado, was in the same mission developers training I was in 2008. When people talk about her, they view her in a kind of god-like status. I know her as a faithful person who was trying to figure out being the person God called her to be and share the love of Jesus with some very weird people.
We do this with pastors. We do this with CEO (think Steve Jobs). We do this with athletes. People are often surprised to find out that these people are ordinary, people....just like you!
To confuse them with God confuses what we think about God. AND I'm sure if you asked them, they would not want God's job.
We are called to witness to God not to be God or even mistaken for God.
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