My heart stopped for a split second when that thought occurred to me last week.
Some of the first words we hear and possibly even commit to memory as Christians are Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
In my obstinacy and determination to refrain from "jumping on the bandwagon" I wonder, have I deprived myself of a God-inspired moment in time? Have I unwittingly rejected Him?
Typically, when I become involved in a pursuit, be it a sport or hobby or other past-time, the moment it becomes a frenzy to a multitude, I get a little rankled. When all of a sudden, at every turn, people are wildly taking up whatever the activity and pushing it to "rock star" status, my hackles are raised. Ultimately, the newborn so-called experts then twist or alter the original activity into a megatrend that becomes fiercely competitive, morphing into a commercial money grab and status symbol. That is where I become disillusioned. The seemingly benign interest that I quietly enjoyed has been manipulated into a cutthroat, ridiculously monetized venture. That's when I begin swimming upstream, eventually hitting the rock bed and jumping out of the water.
I know that my own introverted personality has much to do with how I deal with the past-times I enjoy and losing interest once they rise to "bandwagon" status. But, I also know that in our faith journey as Christians, we need to be cautious of bandwagon jumping. It's great to be enthusiastic about our pursuits, but God has cautioned us about serving and/or following other gods. Jonah 2:8 reminds us, “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them." The warning is clear, when we value anything above the Lord, we've turned our backs and rejected Him.
So, back to my question, "Did I just reject God?".
The recent astronomical wonder for the full eclipse became, to me, one of those bandwagon events. Restauranteurs and other establishments found ways to capitalize on this natural phenomenon in order to cash in . Social media has been clogged with images (some of which I am highly skeptical in the age of AI) and have been -from what I recently read- used to attract followers for nefarious reasons. As momentum gained leading up to the event, I became completely overwhelmed and worn out by every conversation, every newscast, every social media feed discussing, analyzing, and forecasting the situation. The more I was exposed, the less I wanted to have anything to do with it.
I did however, experience the wonder of God's creation in my own quiet way. No crowds, no expensive parties or restaurants, no fancy glasses; nothing but Him and me sitting together in my kitchen. As I worked away on another blog, I was already immersed in the Word. And, gently and silently, as the room grew darker, I knew that in the Universe, His Creation, He was at work.
I'm glad that the world found opportunities to celebrate God's handy-work in some way, albeit (and sadly) without recognizing it as such. For those of us who love Him, we can pray that the incredible spectacle might, in some way cause them to pause and question the true origins of our universe and seek Him for the answers.
But, when I ask myself once again, "Did I just reject God?", I can say no, I celebrated right along with Him in the eerie darkness of the mid-afternoon on April 8th, 2024.
𝑳𝙚𝒕𝙨 𝙋𝒂𝙬𝒔 𝑻𝙤 𝙋𝒓𝙖𝒚
𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅,
Thank you Lord. Every moment of every day we are blessed to experience the wonders and phenomena of Your Creation. In every twinkle of a distant star, in every howling of gusty winds, in every bloom of spring flowers, You are there. We thank you Lord, for all the bounty You provide, the miracles we experience, and the love You lavish on us. As with the experience of the eclipse, help us to be mindful also of the tiny, miniscule signs that point to You. But, let us refrain from "bandwagon jumping" and never forget that above ALL ELSE, You are our Creator and life-giver, our Lord and sustainer, and we praise and honour You alone.
𝑰𝒏 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚,
𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒏
🐾💗🐾
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