That old adage befits what the Israelites were thinking at the bottom of Mount Sinai. That band of ex-slaves who had fled Egypt stood at the base of the mountain while their leader ascended the peak to receive the commandments from God. It must have seemed that Moses was gone for too long, and that their God had forgotten them in the midst of a vast wilderness. In desperation they created their own god, a golden idol from their own wealth, thinking that this metallic statue could somehow spare their lives.
Yet times are never that desperate. God did not depart from that mountain or from his people. God chose to remain with that wandering tribe, personally leading and feeding them along the way to the promised land. Although that golden calf had monetary value, it was not worth the time it took to cast.
Times are never that desperate, no matter how absent God may seem to be. Our Lord has not abandoned us to wander in this wilderness of life alone. Far be it from the Most High! Rather, our Good Shepherd has chosen to feed us and lead us to the glorious place, the new heaven and the new earth.
the rev. jimmy abbott 