The world is filled with all kinds of statues. There are statues in honor of many political and military heroes in every nation. You can also see many statues around stadiums and other sport facilities, to remind us of the great exploits of yesterday’s athletes.
The great majority of statues are of a religious nature. The world has erected many monuments and statues in honor of Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, Mary and even Christ. These impressive and sometimes beautiful artistic expressions shouldn’t be called statues. They are simply idols and they must be rejected by every real follower of Christ.
Man was a statue until the Creator breathed life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). This original version of life was cut short by his rebellion in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). After the fall, man became a shadow of his former self. The image of God in our soul was marred by sin and our spirit became dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).
Mankind became a race of “moving statues.”
As we go around the world today, we are surrounded by billions of moving statues. The statues made of wood and stone cannot walk, hear, talk, feel or do anything (Psalm 115), but the moving statues (unredeemed people) of this world can do many things.
They can speak (lies, curses, deceit, etc.)
They can walk (away from God, to shed blood)
They can do (nothing good, destruction)
They can see (darkness, not God)
(Romans 3:10-18)
Only God’s grace and love can give eternal life to mankind. In the first creation God breathed life into man, but in the new (second) creation in Christ, He has given us the Holy Spirit. A Christian is someone that has been born again and has abundant life (John 10:10) in Christ.
We were once moving statues, moving away from God and moving towards hell, but now that we are in Christ, we are not statues anymore. We have been transformed by the power of God and we have been commanded to go (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
Do not allow sin to turn you into a statue. This is what happened to Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32) and this is what happens when the church is compromised with the world and paralyzed with fear. Get up today and follow the Lord wherever He leads you.
A. G.
