Amos 4:12, 13 
“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, 
and because I will do this to you, Israel, 
prepare to meet your God.” 

He who forms the mountains, 
who creates the wind, 
and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, 
who turns dawn to darkness, 
and treads on the heights of the earth— 
the Lord God Almighty is his name. (NIV)

“All this I have done to you, Israel, 
and this is why I have done it. 
Time’s up, O Israel! 
Prepare to meet your God!” 

Look who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker! 
He laid out the whole plot before Adam. 
He brings everything out of nothing, 
like dawn out of darkness. 
He strides across the alpine ridges. 
His name is GOD, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. (MSG)

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C. S. Lewis, in his book God in the Dock, writes, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

How do we teach our children and others what is of infinite importance? We make sure there’s plenty of it and that they develop a proper perspective on it. Vegetables are pretty important, so we make sure our kids swallow those Brussels sprouts. We insist they learn to like zucchini. We limit beans once they figure out what that makes possible.

We make our kids take baths. Kids approach baths in two different ways. On the one hand, it’s the last thing they want to do because there are other things they would very much prefer to do. Once they’re in the bath, however, they often don’t want to get out. Wise parents learn the strategy of pulling the plug and letting the kids play until the water is all gone. This works well with kids up to about age 4 or 5. New strategies have to be deployed after that. 

These are important matters that we insist children master for their own good. 

When something is of more than moderately important status, we insist on more of it. It’s not something we leave for Someday or Chance. 

The people Amos was preaching and writing to were ignoring what was of ultimate importance. He told them to prepare to meet God. It was in this meeting that they would see God for who he is. In this meeting, they would discover that what they chose to delight in while ignoring him would lead to judgment. 

This warning was a mercy. It was intended to turn their hearts back to God and away from their little gods that kept telling them they were what was of ultimate importance. It is hard to live a life that is all about exalting and enjoying God when everything we do is about exalting and enjoying ourselves. God is the giver of all good things and wants us to enjoy them. He just doesn’t want us to turn them into gods, and he doesn’t want us to think we are gods. 

If you have ever been tempted to think that everything was all about you, you are tempted to make the same tragic error the people of Amos’ day made. 

Every now and then, even we adults need to be reminded to eat our vegetables and to take baths. My bride just texted me that a couple of doctors in very important places tell us we can’t use Downy and dryer sheets in the laundry anymore. It may cause cancer. I would have been happier to receive this communication if it had addressed the dangers of eating kale. 

How important is God to you? For the people of Amos today, he was no longer Number One. Many people regarded him as one god, but they also had other gods. They preferred to invest their time, treasure, and attention in gods who made them feel good, strong, and sexy. It’s amazing how those gods wanted the same things for them that they wanted for themselves. 

God is not a god among a whole bunch of little gods. He is God. He is God alone. There is no other God. And what kind of God is he? Amos tells us, and Eugene Peterson’s The Message, paraphrases it this way:

Look who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker! 
He laid out the whole plot before Adam. 
He brings everything out of nothing, 
like dawn out of darkness. 
He strides across the alpine ridges. 
His name is GOD, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Why would we ever settle for a sex god, a weather god, or a war god when we can know God? This is not a moderately important question. This is the Ultimate Question. 

Amos told the people of his day that they had better get ready to meet God. His message is vital in our day as well. We too will meet God. The question is, will we meet him as our Savior and Friend, or will we meet him as our Judge? This is the infinitely important question of our lives. We dare not leave this question for Someday or to Chance. 

—

I will know and experience God in all his glory and goodness as the first order of my life. 

—

Our Father, thank you for making a way for us to know you and experience you now and forever. Thank you that all the seemingly good things other little gods promise are given in a superior manner by your gracious hand. Your gifts build up us and others. Your guidance keeps us from causing or experiencing unnecessary harm. Your mercy heals our hurts and renews our hearts and minds. The better we know you as the first order of our lives, the less we are attracted to those sinful behaviors that belittle us and others. You are infinitely important. Remind us of this truth every day. Shape us into trophies of your grace that others may see how good you are. Amen.