When a person prays and sacrifices to a God,
whatever form that sacrifice, or altered behaviour, takes,
it is only reasonable to expect that that divinity would respond.
Otherwise, what is the point of praying, sacrificing, being "chosen"?

To many in antiquity, such a failure by their God to respond in kind
was an open invitation to begin looking around for a better God,
a more collaborative presence in heaven, one who understands.
It is a concept which permeates all scripture.
Is that not the same today?

Hebrew culture was rooted in a polytheistic soil;
exposed to peoples who worshipped many diverse gods,
This sort of thinking was, in fact, the norm at that time and place.
The monotheism of today has removed that option in people's minds,
but the principle is still the same, though sublimated.

The Gods of today live in massive sporting stadia
in bronzed athleticism or in our bank accounts.
We may worship with silent fanaticism
or noisy communal chanting,
but these are our Gods.

The Bible shows an abhorrence of such rebelious behaviour;
of ways which defied the dominant priesthood, the God that they proclaimed,
for our God can be made in our own image, take the form that we desire;
can be wrapped in a package devised, to suit our needs,
or can be seen in the form crafted by the priesthood
the controllers of the divine interface.
It is the same today.

Yet God is real, not a concept of our minds
or the concoction of that ancient priesthood.
We can live our lives following a God of man's invention
or seek for, be open to and follow the God that Jesus knew.
We can progress the purposes of God or turn away
through ignorance or disinclination
to fulfill our spiritual potential.



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