God Is Greater

Pastor DaronCrossLife Blog

The Greek god, Zeus, was supposedly the king of the gods and a father to many of them. Legend had it that the Greek god, Hermes, was born in a cave on Mt. Cylene. He is the speedy messenger of the gods and is often depicted wearing winged sandals and hat. 

In Acts 14 the hopes of the apostle Paul and Barnabus that the people in the city of Lystra would forsake these gods for the true God were dashed.

“Why are you doing this?” they protest. “We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God” (Acts 14:15). Paul and Barnabus don’t even give Zeus and Hermes and the other mythological figures of the Greek religion the honor of being called “gods,” but instead call them “things.” 

Inanimate objects like stones, wood chips, raindrops, or figments of the imagination. They might look good and make you feel good, but they don’t do any good. They’re worthless. Compare them to the “living God.” God is greater. Here’s how …

God “made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them” (Acts 14:15) with his creative powers. Wood is created by God and then people carve an idol out of it. Stone is created by God and then people chisel an image from it. Any element of nature, whether animal or planet, is created by God and mythological beings are represented by it. Any imaginative power of the human mind is created by God and then people engineer false gods with it. 

So, Paul argues, why go to what is created for help when you can get help from its Creator? 

“He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17). What worthless idol hits the target with each lightning bolt and in cue every season tugs tender shoots up from bulbs buried in the ground? God is greater. 

What worthless idol can put a smile on your face by spinning a meteorite across the sky or painting a sunset in your corner of the world? God is greater. 

These are acts of courtship by a loving God who competes with worthless idols to win the hearts of helpless people. 

Once he has your attention, he wants to hold your hand and bring you to the greatest place of his love – the bloody cross and empty tomb of Jesus Christ – where he destroyed guilt forever and replaced it with joy and life. Better than any idol, or anyone who thinks he or she needs an idol, can ever do.

God is greater. Actually, the greatest.

PRAYER: Thank you, O great God, for your might and power that created the heavens, the earth, and me. Thank you, O great God, for your living love that claims the guilty, the ashamed, and me. Your saving acts are wonderful! Amen.

FURTHER MEDITATION: Reflect in prayer and meditation. To what idol do you most often turn, hoping it can do for you what only God can do? What keeps you awake at night? What drives your greatest fears? What consumes your thoughts, and even your love? Compare it to God.