A Cheetos Jesus

“When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has said we will do.'”  Exodus 24:3 

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Do you see an animal image in the picture above?

 

After most of the water dried off of our front porch from a good spray-down, I saw something in the remaining moisture. Curious if you see it.

 

Made me think of all the Cheetos Jesus’ that are out there.

 

Have you seen these stories where someone reaches deep into a bag of some processed white flour snack and pulls out an image of what they think is Christ?  I call them the Cheetos Jesus’.

 

Just this past week, another story hit of a woman who found a fish cracker with what she believed had Jesus and some religious markings on it.  She now carries it around with her in a ring-box, filled with cotton balls to protect it.  She said she feels God’s presence through it and considers it holy.  Really?  A fish cracker?

 

But she’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.

 

A man did the same thing—centuries ago.

 

Aaron was getting restless that his younger bro, Moses, hadn’t returned from the mountain yet, so he gave in to the crowd’s desire to build a…well…Cheetos Jesus.  Actually, a golden calf…but the same idea.   A small item, built out of gold to represent God since Moses hadn’t returned.  A calf.  A symbol of strength in the Egyptian empire, from their past lives, from their past gods.

 

And then the proverbial doo-doo hit the fan.  Moses returned unexpectedly, took one look at the people worshiping it and went Rambo on them.  Rightfully, so. It was just days before that he came down from the same mountain with God’s words on his lips explaining not to worship any other gods!  And as we see in the verse at the top, the people were all for it and said they would make those laws their ways.  Oh how quickly they forgot…

 

And here we are in 21^st century, with a few Cheetos Jesus’.  Maybe not always food items—but statues, and symbols, and monuments and a whole host of items that “take the place” of God. We bow in front of cheap ceramic makings saying we’re being extra holy.  We fight over religious symbols saying that God is in them. And we light incense and candles, believing the smoke is somehow a cosmic carrier to the heavens. We have made our golden calves!!

 

But some of us have clearer heads. We see the idiocy to these routines. We can decipher that since there has never been a clear description of Jesus written in any ancient documents, Bible included, then how on earth can we say a picture, or fish-cracker, or anything else, are in his likeness?  And we can see the futileness in bowing to ceramic statues just to think we are connecting with God.   Yeah, I’m pretty certain I can check this off my list as not falling into that golden calf experience.

 

Then I heard the prompting…, “not so fast there my daughter. You, too, have your Cheetos Jesus.”

 

Say what?

 

And it became clearer. At times I’ve been guilty of wrapping up God in a small to-go box and putting him in my purse, too.

 

Those times when I didn’t trust HIM, I trusted something else.

 

Those times when I felt holier doing this or that with church or study…but quickly forgetting about Him when I was in the throws of “life”.

My little Jesus all safe and sound in a ring-box there for viewing, just every now and then, when I wanted to feel holier.

 

Aaron tried to minimize his actions to Moses.  He tried to explain that the end justified the means.  He tried to reason away that they still worshipped THE God but with a little more bling.  Moses didn’t fall for it. And neither did God.  He followed it up with another set of commandments…this time in stone.

 

Been there?  Tried to justify having a little ring-box Jesus? Have you had your golden idols? I certainly have.

 

Oh dear ones let us stop putting golden calves before our faith.  Let us stop wrapping Jesus up in cotton and keeping him tucked away only until we need him.  Let us live our lives remembering that Jesus resides in our hearts—not a statue, cracker, or anything else for that matter. Let us live as people who project Christ through our very actions, not our objects, and regain the words the Israelites said, “Everything the Lord has said, we will do.”

 

We need reminders every now and then.  My porch did it for me.  How about for you?