Nothing between me and my God

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. – Exodus 20.2-6

God starts the short list of the Law by reminding us of who is and how we should respond to who he is. 

When we first look at this we may be tempted to think that we don’t have this problem. Few, I any, of us would think we are guilty of worshipping false Gods. Few, if any, of us have a ‘god shelf’ where we keep out idols so we can bow down and worship them. 

But does that mean that we don’t have our own false gods or our own idols. All of us have things that we may be tempted to put ahead of the one true God. 

So what are our false gods and our idols? They are anything that we allow to come between us and our God. They can be the god of pride or self-indulgence or popularity or materialism or whatever. It is the idolatry of stuff or money or jobs or things or anything I pay more honour to or spend more time with that my God. 

What comes between ourselves and our saviour? If anything does that is our god and those are our idols. 

Can we sing with confidence the great old hymn? 

Nothing between my soul and the Saviour,

Naught of this world’s delusive dream;

I have renounced all sinful pleasure;

Jesus is mine, there’s nothing between.

Nothing between my soul and the Saviour,

So that His blessed face may be seen;

Nothing preventing the least of His favour,

Keep the way clear! Let nothing between.

Nothing between, like worldly pleasure;

Habits of life, though harmless they seem,

Must not my heart from Him e’er sever;

He is my all, there’s nothing between.

Nothing between, like pride or station;

Self-life or friends shall not intervene;

Though it may cost me much tribulation,

I am resolved; there’s nothing between.

Nothing between, e’en many hard trials,

Though the whole world against me convene;

Watching with prayer and much self-denial,

I’ll triumph at last, with nothing between.