Refuse & Reclaim

Listen to this article

Refuse!
It has been a hectic two weeks with my in-camp training and my church's men's retreat and so I have decided to take a day's leave today to just take a rest. But I thank God in how he has blessed this day of rest; in what has happened in just a short span of one hour. Over the weekend, I have attended the men's retreat and have come to realise that despite my family being a Christian family, God has suddenly brought to my attention during the retreat that, there were idols still lying around in the home. It has somehow become quite oblivious to these because they have been in the house for the longest of time; gifts from relatives and friends. The Word of God says:

Exodus 20:4-6
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:22-23
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

Leviticus 26:1
1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

As I have mentioned, these were gifts in the past from relatives and friends. We did not worship the idols but somehow having them at home made me feel uneasy. And so, I made the decision to get these artifacts out of my house. After all, how does God become the Head and Lord of the house with this household (just like how can God touch a life for healing when it is defiled without repentence)? The Word of God says:

Deuteronomy 7:5
5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

Deuteronomy 12:3
3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

And so, I gathered all the idols and anything which made me feel uncomfortable, including a dragon spoon holder and two wooden Myanmar statues and placed them into a plastic bag. My dad was home and so I got his blessings to get rid of them. At first, I was reluctant because I do not know how he will react to my wanting to get rid of the idols but I thank God that everything turned out well, with a Christian worship CD playing in the background as we speak, and there was no arguments whatsoever. He did seemingly want to keep the Myanmar statues of these 2 ladies dancing but then later relented. I went around the house to see what else needed to be discarded and placed them into 2 plastic bags; 6 small statues and 6 large statues all together.

To Destroy or Not to Destroy?
Then, I hesitated whether to destroy them or shall I just leave them as it is and discard them? My heart raced as I reached for the hammer. I do not know what I was afraid of; afraid of being cursed? But I believe in the sovereignty of God and decided to destroy them anyway, for did not the Word of God commanded that all idols be destroyed lest it causes others to stray from Him? My dad saw me with the hammer and immediately knew what I was about to do and asked me to just discard the artifacts, but I explained how it is necessary to destroy the artifacts. Now, there is this sense of peace that this matter has been dealt with and I am waiting with an expectant heart for God to take His place in this household.

Reclaim
Then, I thanked God for a blessed conversation with my dad. We never sit down to talk and express ourselves but then God gave the opportunity to do so on this very day. And as we talked, I have come to realise how much my dad is going through. He has been inflicted with many illnesses; from diabetes, to heart problem, to retinal problems, to high blood pressure, possible kidney problem and recently, the doctor is suspecting that he might have lymphomas, a blood cancer.

My sister has told me yesterday that my dad seemed a bit different recently and has a shortened fuse. Somehow, when my sister told me that, I began to feel how much a failure I had been as a son to not to have noticed it. I felt how much I am a failure for not having talked to him and addressed his feelings. I felt as a failure that I am social work trained but when it comes to family, I was like a wooden block and insensitive at times. I struggled with going up to my dad and talking to him and praying for him. Many do not know this but I come from a complex background. There is the reason why I work so hard at work, there is a reason why I have not went out to find a life partner, there is a reason why I felt so much a failure and did not return back to direct social work practice. So, I am not very expressive about my feelings, care and concern.

Anyway, I had a good short chat with my dad and as he shared his past hurts with me, I can't help but again feel how much a failure I had been as a son for not picking it up. And just as he was telling me the physical pain he was going through every night, fearing that he will never wake up again the next morning, it nearly made me break down. He told me that he is not afraid of dying because he is assured of being back with the Lord and told me that he has a feeling something will happen to him these few months and should he die, to just have his wake for 3 days as he does not have many friends. So it seems that death has been on his mind, which explains why he looks different these few days. Eventually, I requested to pray for him and thanked God for his life and asked for healing of any pains and we also prayed for healing of the family. And as I pray, the Christian CD in the background tappering off as it reaches the end... I really do not know why God is giving me this encounter with my dad and I hope that it will not be the end soon because even though I do not show it, but then I love my dad. Dear Lord, I commit him into your hands and pray for your healing over every pain in his body and soul. Take care of him and this family. In Jesus' name I ask, Amen.