Day 25

If there is only one God, there are no other gods, even though we treat them with that status.

‘Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.’ (DEUTERONOMY 4:39)

Many households in Japan have a ‘god-shelf’ in their home. On this shelf are kept a collection of gods the family have adopted. A Christian worker in Japan told me that sometimes, when people become interested in Christianity, they will make room on the god-shelf for a Christian symbol, usually a cross. They include Jesus in the plurality of gods they already have. The confusion is understandable, for there is no singular word ‘God’ in Japanese; it is always a plural word.

To most of us that may seem a foreign cultural issue, but we are all in danger of the same thing. We can have our own string of idols, be it our possessions, career, job, money, our family or a whole string of things that sit on the god-shelf of our lives, adding Jesus to look after the eternal aspects.

When Jesus Christ comes to occupy our lives, He comes to sweep the god-shelf clean. The first commandment says, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 20:3). This and this alone, is where we truly meet with God and experience His presence and activity in our lives.

Do you have a god-shelf with Jesus as only a part of your life? What needs to be swept clean?