Just Like Him

JUST LIKE HIM

a prayer to open

Here’s my heart, Lord. Speak what is true.

Here’s my life, Lord. Speak what is true.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,

but to your name goes all the glory

for your unfailing love and faithfulness.

Why let the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Our God is in the heavens,

and he does as he wishes.

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,

shaped by human hands.

They have mouths but cannot speak,

and eyes but cannot see.

They have ears but cannot hear,

and noses but cannot smell.

They have hands but cannot feel,

and feet but cannot walk,

and throats but cannot make a sound.

And those who make idols are just like them,

as are all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust the LORD!

He is your helper and your shield. . . .

All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD!

He is your helper and your shield.

The LORD remembers us and will bless us.

He will bless the people of Israel. . . .

He will bless those who fear the LORD,

both great and lowly.

May the LORD richly bless

both you and your children.

May you be blessed by the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

The heavens belong to the LORD,

but he has given the earth to all humanity.

The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD,

for they have gone into the silence of the grave.

But we can praise the LORD

both now and forever!

Praise the LORD!

It’s so easy to look back on ancient times and think how ridiculous it was for people to have put their trust in wooden figures or pieces of gold and silver. Who would ever think handmade objects were gods? But our hearts are no less deceived. All of us attach to temporary, powerless objects, ideas, and people. Although we long to be like Jesus, our hearts lead us to treat other people and things like gods. We chase fame, money, status, power, and perfection, and before we know what’s happening, we become just like our idols. If we put our trust in status, believing that the way others see us is what determines our value, we will see others through this same lens, where only those who have reached a certain level are worthy of our attention. John the apostle said that God is love and that as we live in him, our love grows more perfect (see 1 John 4:16-17). In other words, only when God is at the center of our lives will we become more like him. If money or fame or power or perfection is at the center of our lives (and hearts), we will not become more like Christ; any effort will be fruitless. How might our lives be shaped if, with gut-wrenching honesty, we named the things and people and ideas that regularly find their way into the number one position in our hearts?

• Read this passage again slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase speaks to you? What does it say?
• What are your idols? Why do you think your heart tends to attach to whatever you identified?
• In what areas of your life do you feel stuck in your growth toward Christlikeness? Reflect on whether there is an idol at the heart of that “stuck-ness.” Ask God to give you eyes to see what you’re pursuing more than love.

Oh, Lord, it’s embarrassing to see the kinds of things my heart attaches to for safety or control or temporary satisfaction. I need you at the center of my heart. I can be so easily fooled by the temptations of this world and the things this culture puts on a pedestal. What I desire most is to love like Jesus in every sense. Help me live in you, put my trust in you, rely on you, and attach to only you. In the places I am stuck, free me and give me the strength and opportunity to grow. Amen.