Ground Zero

Jeremiah 25:6-7

“Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’Yet you have not listened to Me," says the LORD, "that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.”

We all know “Ground Zero” is the place where the Twin Towers once stood as symbols of capitalism and American economic might. It should be a warning that we should not put our confidence in what we have achieved with our hands, which is temporal and can easily be destroyed.

God had an ongoing issue with His people Israel. He had chosen them, blessed them, and made them great. But instead of worshiping and thanking Him for their abundance, they began to worship the works of their hands. So, God sent His prophets to warn them, but because of the love of the works of their hands, they refused to listen and repent. As a result, God sent the Babylonians to destroy Israel and take them into captivity.

Yet those in Jerusalem and Judah thought it was impossible for it to happen to them because Jerusalem was God’s chosen city and the temple was God’s dwelling place. After all, they were the people of God, and they were worshiping God in His temple. Despite this, God destroyed His city and temple and sent His people into captivity because they continued to worship the works of their hands.

We the church, who are God’s people, must be careful that we, too, do not become deceived into thinking that because we are God’s chosen people and worship God that we will avoid the judgment that God will bring upon this world, if we, like the world, worship the works of our hands.

If we are not watchful, prayerful, and obedient to God’s Word, not only could our nation experience a Ground Zero, but we as the church could face a Ground Zero when what we have put our confidence in is stripped away. Ground Zero is not for our destruction but to cause us to make Jesus, His Word, and His will the center of our lives. It is only when we reach Ground Zero that we will have the courage to stand up and proclaim the lordship of Christ in our society, no matter what the cost, because we have already lost everything for Christ.

Paul said in Philippians 3:7-9, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish , that I may gain Christ.”

Andy Clark