Worship Is the Key

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:4

D.L. MOODY
I would a great deal sooner have five minutes’ communion with Christ than spend years bowing before pictures and images of Him. Whatever comes between my soul and my Maker is not a help to me, but a hindrance. God has given different means of grace by which we can approach Him. Let us use these, and not seek for other things that He has distinctly forbidden.

ERWIN LUTZER
I agree with Moody. Images often become idols, but the good news is that we can come directly to God through the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5).
Moses saw a glimpse of God’s glory in the rock, but God has revealed His glory to all of us through Jesus. We cannot know the glory of God except through Jesus. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the one who came to restore the glory. It is through Him that we worship and glorify God. The only intermediary we need is Christ.
We all should strive to live for the glory of God. We do not need images, crucifixes, or altars. Through Christ, we can directly and boldly “draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). When we put God’s glory first and worship Him, we grow in our relationship with Him.

PRAYER
Father, draw me close to your heart. Deliver me from all other concerns and those idols I put in the place of your glory and your holiness.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What Idols are in your life that hinder you from giving glory to God?

What does it look like for you to live for God’s glory?