Who Do We Serve?

AM Psalm 50 • PM Psalm 59, 60 or 114, 115
Exod. 34: 1-17 • 1 Thess. 2: 13-20 • Matt. 5: 21-26

The reading from Exodus for today tells the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. Reading this story, I realized how terrifying this would have been. Not only did Moses interact directly with God, but the rules were strict and had harsh punishments. I used to avoid Old Testament readings like this because they are so harsh, but even in these passages, God’s love for us shines through.

God told Moses that we are not to honor false gods. I think this is especially important to remember in these unstable times. There is a lot of false information circulating and things demanding our attention right now. Life is full of trials that are supposed to test our faith. We have a choice to acknowledge our lack of control and worship God or to chase a false sense of control and worship idols.

The news, making masks, and social distancing are all good things, but when taken to extremes can be destructive. It is possible to worship anyone of these things. It is natural when we are afraid, to search for something to do to reduce that fear. This can consume our minds and our actions. Instead of throwing all our energy into worldly things to reduce our fear, God wants us to trust Him to take care of it. We can’t control when this pandemic will end, who will die, or how our jobs are impacted, but we can control what we serve during this uncertainty. God loves us and wants to protect us from the suffering that inevitably comes from worshiping false gods.

Written by Hadley Thomas

Hadley is currently a biochemistry student at Colorado School of Mines and hopes to attend medical school to become a Navy physician. She is passionate about her faith and is excited to share her perspective and interpretations with the amazing congregation of Saint Paul’s.