I threw it into the fire, and This came out

garthfreeman(56)

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It... Just came out!.jpg

Do you ever find yourself acting in ways you know aren't consistent with who you want to be, or who God wants you to be? I know I do. There are times when I catch myself doing stuff that is so out of line with my identity in Christ that I just can't understand how I let myself act that way. I can totally relate to Paul when he says,

I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. Rom 7:15

It's almost as if, being caught up in the moment, it's not actually us doing it, but some unseen force. Well, rest assured that it's us doing it, but there is an unseen force working as well. There just seems to be some part of human nature that tends to gain momentum and eventually run out of control.

This happens to Aaron, the brother of Moses in the book of Exodus, chapter 32. After God led the people out of Egypt, after witnessing the plagues and the parting of the sea, and after seeing God guard them in the form of a pillar of fire, the people somehow manage to lose faith. Moses has been up on the mountain "talking to God" for too long a time and they assume something bad has happened to him.
Moses is gone!.jpg
So, the people get all in a frenzy and go to Aaron, who is the priest, and tell him to make them a God. Now, keep in mind Aaron SAW God. He even had dinner with Him (Ex 24:9-11) God went through a really detailed process to make Aaron the high priest but it just wasn't enough. Aaron gave in and made the people a golden calf to worship, and told them “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Ex 32:4)

Well, God saw what was going on and He sent Moses down there to deal with the situation. When He got there, he asked Aaron what was going on and got this as a response:

“Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord; you know these people, that they tend to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.” (Ex 32:22-34)

Did you catch it? The gold calf just "came out." There's no responsibility: no remorse. Aaron makes it sound like he had no choice but to do what the people wanted so he went along. He admits to gathering the gold up but acts like he doesn't understand how the gold calf came to be, it just came out.

What Aaron's doing here is an all too human tactic: blame shift. We like to throw the blame on the fire and say, "I put everything in the fire and this came out."

Well you see, it just sort of happened..jpg

If a man is cruel, lustful, vindictive, or violent He will often say he is only a victim of circumstance. He's just a product of his environment. Or it could be like a woman who uses her looks to seduce, mislead, coerce, or rob. She may say she is only doing what she must to survive in this world.

In the same manner, we relinquish responsibility for the people and things under out authority, like parents who say, "We sent our children out into the world and this is what came back." Or, like a politician or religious leader might say, "I gave what I had, and this is what came out."

Why do we do this? How does it happen?

Where's this thing go again_.jpg

Well, in a way life is like a series of flowing streams. You can chose a stream and jump in, but it's not always clear how strong the stream is. As you continue down the stream, the forces of the current push upon you, gathering speed. After a while, you are swirling along with little hope of escaping the stream. There are many streams like this. There's streams of drugs and alcohol. Streams of pride and shame. Streams of poor attitude, self loathing, vanity, and more.

Most of the time when we jump in the stream is slow-moving and fun. It's very difficult for us to see what's downstream, so by the time we're in the rapids we're already in big trouble. People don't start off as a junkie. Murderers usually start with smaller crimes. Alcoholics start with one drink. Soon enough, the streams we are in control the direction of our lives.

In Exodus, Moses had the Levites kill a bunch of people to try to get them out of the stream of Idolatry. In the end, it turns out it wasn't enough. He knew he had to do something drastic, though.

Once in the stream it's very difficult to get out, and the further downstream you go the harder it is to slow down. Sometimes it can be done, but sometimes not. There's always trouble grabbing onto the shore while you're speeding by so quickly, getting bashed against the rocks.

I've Got ya.jpg

Really, the best thing for us is if someone on the shore would reach out and pull us back to safety. It can't be just anyone, it needs to be someone who is firmly planted on solid ground. I don't know about you, but when I wake up and realize I'm headed downstream at breakneck pace, I reach for Jesus. Like the old hymn says,

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

This isn't some cop out either, laying all responsibility on Jesus. As His body here on earth we, His followers, are to be that rock to each other. We are to be reaching out into the whitewater rapids and grabbing onto those we see reaching for the shore. We can't be a rock alone, but as a body we stand strong.

All right men, let's get ready to rescue some folks!.jpg

So when you find yourself being broken by the rocks, careening headlong into the rapids, remember there's someone to reach for who is able to pull you out. And if you're a follower of Jesus, start trying to pull people out.