As author Mark Batterson continues Chapter 16 of All In, he asks what idol provokes us to jealousy. Pastor Batterson defines the idol that provokes to jealousy as “anything that diverts our attention from God, our affection for God, or our reliance on God. It’s anything that consumes more time or money than our pursuit of God.”
Mark states that a good starting point for identifying our idols is to look at the ways we spend our time and money. Our calendars and checkbooks will be most revealing. He adds that we all have hidden rooms where we conceal our most precious idols. Jesus needs to penetrate the walls of our hidden rooms.
Pastor Batterson compares our hearts to the Jewish temple- each possessing an outer court and an inner court. As C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, when we let Jesus into the inner court of our hearts, we expect and can tolerate modest renovations, but may receive a complete gut job:
“But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of. . . . You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
Today’s question: Do you view yourself as a “decent little cottage” or a palace where Jesus indwells? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Information or transformation?”
