“Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:8).

Who or what are the “them” referring to? Idols.

Those who make idols will be like them. Those who trust in idols will be like them.

So, then, what are idols like? Take a look at the preceding verses.

• Idols are made by human hands (v.4)
• Idols have mouths but cannot speak, have eyes but cannot see (v.5)
• Idols have ears but cannot hear, nose but cannot smell (v.6)
• Idols have hands but cannot feel, feet but cannot walk (v.7)

Gee. Idols can’t do anything. And that’s exactly the point. Idols are powerless because idols are dead. We know that idols are powerless because we are the ones who made them with our own hands. Idols are our own creations. Of course they can’t do anything.

Those who make idols will be like them. Those who trust in idols will be like them…Dead…Powerless.

So, then, why would anyone make idols? Because idols are easily controlled. After all, we made them. And because we made them, they are less demanding and exacting. Because we control idols, we can manage them.

But they are dead. They are powerless. They can do nothing.

So it is with anyone who makes them and who puts their trust in idols.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

RUN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO GET THE PRIZE.

We always make time for what is important to us.

We always prioritize what is important to us.

We always go out of our way to do what is important to us.

So what is it that you make time for? What do you prioritize? What do you go out of your way for? It wouldn’t be that hard to determine what’s important to us. If we were to see what fills our calendar and how we actually spend our time, we would know.

The Apostle Paul reminds us – if you’re going to live this Christian life, if you’re going to live as if you were created for eternity, if you’re going to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ – run the race of life as if eternity matters, as if God matters.

Bottom line – if you’re serious about your discipleship you will make a way to invest in spiritual growth and maturity. When you are not, you will make excuses.

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

Our modern world has no issues with the idea of God…as long as we are only talking about a God of love. What our world has issues with is a God who is holy, just, and righteous. What our world hates is a God who judges.

A God of love? No problem. We all love that God. Because God is love. God loves all of us.

But a God who does not get angry when evil destroys his beloved, a God who will not bring to justice and judge the evil perpetrated against his beloved, a God who refuses to acknowledge the harm and the pain caused to his beloved is not a God of love at all. Such a God is just a weak, pathetic God who can’t do anything!

If God loves his beloved, God must judge evil. If God loves his beloved, God must hate everything that endangers the peace and wellbeing of his beloved.

Yes, the God of the Bible is a God of love. And God loves so much that he cannot tolerate evil. He will judge and punish evil because he is a God of love.