One of the big adventures of being in Mexico for a month now has been the grocery shopping. We have a small kitchen in our place right now and it’s only 2 blocks from the largest supermarket on the island. This allows us to eat more meals here, saving on time and money. The day we arrived, we both walked over to the store to get a few weeks of food. We stayed in that store for over 2 hours. For most of the visit I had my phone in hand swapping between two different apps. One was a Spanish dictionary, the other a U.S. dollar to Mexican peso converter. We walked the aisles, sometimes recognizing familiar brands and packaging, but mostly looking at the strange names and products like we had just been dropped off on this planet by the last spaceship that passed by. What a fun adventure.
I think that, in this day and age, we have all been molded into highly proficient shoppers. In the 1880’s if you needed sugar, you took a wagon into town, stopped at the dry goods store and simply asked for 25 pounds of sugar. But today if you go to the store you are bombarded with sugar options. White refined, natural cane, sugar syrup, confectioners, granulated, dark brown, light brown. And then you get into the whole family of sugar substitutes. Stevia, sweet-n-low, equal, coconut sugar, and on and on. I’m currently reading through the epic western novel, Lonesome Dove. I can only imagine Gus and Call walking into a dry goods store in Dodge City and asking for 12 ounces of fine confectioners sugar and one package of Stevia because they are counting their calories. It’d probably be better they took their chances with the Commanches back out on the plains than to place this order.
My point being that today we are bombarded with choices that did not exist 100, 50 or even 25 years ago. When I was growing up every restaurant table did not have the ubiquitous yellow, blue and pink packages of sweetener substitute that currently adorn every table. As a result of the many choices, we have to become better consumers, better shoppers. And now add to that the creation of Amazon, eBay and the plethora of online choices and now we shop not only our in-person choices, but we compare those to what we can get online. No wonder we are all shopping geniuses.
But what about when it comes to God? Do you think that you can shop for a god just like you shop for sugar, a GoPro or a new type of laundry detergent? Believe it or not there has been new gods invented in just the last 100 years. Yes, you heard that right, hundreds of new religions have been created right under your nose in your lifetime. If you want to see for yourself look up “list of new religions” on Wikipedia. The list will shock you. I lost track at 250. As a result, these hundreds of new religions crowd an already full marketplace to confuse, bewilder, and complicate the decision of the god seeker. Which is the right religion and god for me? The basis for the world’s answering of this question, although it should not surprise you, is still sad to say the least.
Today we begin a new chapter in God’s Word although it’s not really new. 1 Kings and 2 Kings were originally written as one book and we see that 2 Kings chapter 1 picks up exactly where 1 Kings chapter 22 left off. Evil king Ahab and his even more evil wife Jezebel, are both dead. Their son, Ahaziah, took the reins and as the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Ahaziah falls trough the floor of this house and is mortally injured. He thinks he might die so he consults his god. Notice I said his god, not God. You see, just as today, the people of Israel in 842 B.C. shopped for some things, one of them being their god.
We’re told that on his deathbed, he cried out to Baal-zebub god of Ekron, to inquire if he would live or not. By now you should be very familiar with the false god Baal. Baal was the god of weather, especially rain, and he led the Israelite nation into idolatry for hundreds of years. In fact, as Moses was retrieving the 10 commandments from God and the people were at the foot of the mountain worshiping a newly made golden calf? Yep, that was Baal. While in slavery in Egypt for 400 years, the Israelites had become very aware of the many local gods. And as a result, the pool of gods they could shop from got a lot bigger. Hence why Almighty God no longer wanted them inter-marrying with pagan tribes from all over the promised land. God knew that if the people (and us) had too many choices, we would more than likely be tempted to ignorantly make the wrong one.
But as Ahaziah seeks Baal-zebub, God sends Elijah back into the fray. Elijah tells Ahaziah that he will indeed die and then Ahaziah proceeds to try to kill him. Oh, the flawed logic of this world. If I kill the messenger, then that will surely kill the truth of the message, right?
We see a few very lopsided showdowns as king Ahaziah sends a troop of 50 to kill Elijah. God sends fire to consume the 50 and then Ahaziah simply sends another 50. I always think of the bitter humor here as the second 50 soldiers walk up to Elijah and try to finish what the first 50 soldiers could not. They look over at the smoldering remains of the first 50 and then shakily tell Elijah to give up, knowing they will soon be toast. Man, talk about a bad day at work.
Folks, I’ve got news for you. Today, the world is shopping for a religion. They are shopping for a god. What god is best for me, which one gives me the most flexibility, which one allows me to do what I want to do? Which god allows homosexuality and same sex marriage? Which god makes provisions for me to cheat on my wife and even have several wives? Which god says I will go to Heaven regardless of what I do? Which god requires little to nothing of me? Which god scratches the itching that is in my ears?
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” 2 Timothy 4:3
You see, just like shopping a huge buffet, if you look at enough food, you begin to get picky. Instead of simply satisfying your hunger, you will shop that buffet to no longer satisfy your hunger but satisfy your desires.
Friend, today are you shopping for God? There is but one true God, I pray that you find Him. His laws are not popular in this world, His way is not easy to follow, His way requires much of you. But it is only in the love of Jesus Christ that you will find the one true way. For you see, the religions and false gods of this world will do their best to have you believe that there are countless ways to Heaven. That Heaven is guaranteed for everybody and all you need to do is pick the religion that makes you the happiest. But the truth of God’s Word speaks just that, the truth, not popular opinion. Search for the truth and you will find the one true God. Find the one true God and you will find the Salvation that can only come though Jesus Christ. And folks, as you find Jesus and ask Him to be your Lord, you will find freedom, peace and joy for eternity.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:36
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:18
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