Tame gods on leashes are preferred by so many to the all-powerful God who does things like raising Jesus from the dead. It’s easier to control a little statue made of wood, stone, or gold than the true and living God who numbers our heartbeats and gives each breath of life. 

No little statues for me, thank you. 

Give me the God whose words create worlds.

Give me the God whose breath gives life.

Give me the God whose love transforms all it touches.

Give me the God who knows my name and has a wonderful plan for my life.

Give me the God who will meet me when my heartbeats pause on this side of the eternal vale. 

Give me the God who has made a place for me in the perfect peace of his presence. 

No little statues. No ornamental jewelry. No self-serving words of personal manifestation. 

No, instead, give me Jesus. 

Yes, give me Jesus whose footprints lead away from the cemetery.

Yes, give me Jesus who is the Light of the World, Living Water, Bread of Life, Good Shepherd, Alpha and Omega, and so much more.

Yes, give me Jesus whose resurrection started turning death’s clock in the opposite direction. 

Of course, our God raises the dead. All the dead, except for those little statues. They remain forever mute and pathetic and powerless. Sad little tokens, aren’t they?

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I will entrust my life to the God who created it and redeemed it and will retrieve it on that great getting-up morning. 

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