Stay Loyal to God

It seems a lot of large retailers I have wandered through lately aim to be a "one-stop shop."  Walmart is a good example.  Years ago there was not nearly the amount of groceries on offer like there is today with large refrigerated aisles.  From memory the only refrigerated area of Walmart I was aware of was for bait in the fishing department!  Today there is pretty much everything you need in one store that is the size of a small suburb that offers prices competitive with all rivals.  The thought is, if you can buy everything in one place, why go anywhere else?  This provides consumers the convenience of everything needed in one shop, the benefit of low prices and (of course!) provides more revenue for the retailer.

If there was a store where everything you wanted and needed was consistently provided at the lowest price, it would make sense to go there.  Benefits offered that reward loyalty are reasons why people prefer to shop at one place rather than another.  People are loyal until a much better deal comes along they can profit from.  That is when loyalty and our personal governing principles are put to the test.  Some people in California will pay more because they want an American-made product or want to support local businesses.  Others are more interested in saving money for themselves or so they can afford to support more charities through giving.  How we save and/or spend our money is often a complex, personal series of decisions.

The same can be true of the God we trust and worship.  Even as there are more shops and companies than I recognise or could count, there are a multitude of various deities that have been worshipped by mankind throughout history.  The powers of gods in the ancient world (and to this day) are often limited in scope and specialise in things like fertility, abundant harvests or protection.  The almighty God who created all things resembles a "one stop shop" in one sense, but He is infinitely superior in that He meets all our needs, is supreme in power, and is the best at everything without rival.  God is like a spring of pure, living water and all the other gods and idols combined are like a small mud puddle--a puddle that by the time you stoop to drink from it, you discover there is no water at all!  All other gods and spiritual practices were only a mirage that could never meet a single need.

God said through the prophet in Jeremiah 2:12-13:  "Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate," says the LORD. ¹³ "For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water."  God exposed the folly of His people to forsake Him who saved them, was gracious and merciful to them, provided for their needs and blessed them abundantly.  They did evil in departing from Him, and they also sinned in carving for themselves cisterns (idols) that were totally unfit for purpose.  It was God who brought the rain, made their fields fruitful, caused them to bear children, and protected them from harm.  No other god, nation or person could compare with His goodness, everlasting power, wisdom and help.  It was completely irrational and foolish to abandon living water for broken cisterns that could hold no water in an arid environment.  A silly person can see how ridiculous it would be to make such a trade, yet the irony is God's people did not see it was stupid for them to forsake God who never forsook them.

We do not follow Jesus merely for benefits we hope to receive from Him but because He is God and worthy of all praise.  He is our life, and the wise cling to Him in faith in times of peace and conflict, when things are going smoothly or all seems lost.  We are the lost ones, and Jesus has sought and called us; He freely offers the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, and He gives rest for our souls.  How strange it is we would receive His gifts and grace, and after we have been saved, nursed to spiritual health and gained strength would go after false gods that could never hear, see, help or deliver us at all.  Blessed is the one who finds God to be His all in all!  Praise the LORD for His loyal love to us, that when we foolishly lean on our own understanding He continues to pursue us and calls us back to Himself to receive us.  Let's be those who, having discovered God to be our fountain of living water, are not deceived to think there could be better elsewhere and remain loyal to Him.