Only One Savior

In Psalm 115, the writer exalts the One True God:
1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. 2 Why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?" 3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

Here we see a wonderful acknowledgement of our God, the One who resides in heaven and does according to His good pleasure - His perfect will!   We live in an age where many are looking for substitutes for God - those that deny any deity, those who attribute deity to all sorts of mystic fables, and those who deify human leaders.   And, we have that human, fleshly, prideful tendency to put ourselves in the place of the Lord in our lives, exalting ourselves to the throne of our lives, when things would be so much better for us if we were to relinquish that impossible position to Him.

In Ephesians chapter 4, we read:
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 
The front cover of TIME magazine recently identified one man as "The Republican Savior".   This one guy is bright, well-spoken, the son of immigrants, and in a party that the media and some within the party say needs to reinvent itself after losing an election by 5 million or so votes out of about 128 million cast nationwide, Senator Marco Rubio represents the best hope for the GOP recapturing the Presidency in 2016. 

According to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, his high-profile efforts to reform immigration, and the news that he will be giving the Republican response to the President's State of the Union speech this week have place Rubio squarely in the headlines.   He is described as "the key player in his party's efforts to make up to Hispanic voters after a disastrous 2012 campaign".

This coronation by TIME of Sen. Rubio as a savior prompted Mr. Rubio to tweet last Thursday morning: 

There is only one savior, and it is not me. #Jesus


It reminded me of the great line in the Avengers movie, when Captain America, told that Thor and Loki were "gods", replied, "“There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”

It is refreshing to hear references to the one true God, because in this culture, there are a variety of gods to choose from.    We look to leaders for our salvation, spiritual and otherwise.   And, we have a sobering reminder of the humanity of our earthly leaders, even religious ones, as we read the headlines today that Pope Benedict will be stepping down as of the end of the month, which means there will likely be a new pontiff by Easter.

Speaking in Latin to a gathering of cardinals earlier today, the pope said:

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine Ministry."

The pope added that his strength in the last few months had "deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."

The earthly leaders we look to are not infallible.  Our savior is not the Pope, not Sen. Rubio, or President Obama.   Our ultimate source of salvation is in the one true God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

And, the most identifiable suspect that we look to as a replacement or a misguided complement to the one true God is...you.   Each day is a struggle for control - will we follow God's path for our lives or will we set our own course, maybe looking for God's approval, or maybe not acknowledge Him at all?   We make decisions that we think are right, but even if we sometimes get it right without being submitted to God, it's not His best.   We have to be convinced that our walk of faith in Christ is the absolutely correct way to live, and if we recognize Him as the ONE TRUE GOD, it will make a tremendous difference in the way we approach our lives and the temperament that we display.    What are you regarding as a "substitute god" in your life?