Katherine and I didn’t get to share our adventures back in Bangkok with you all, so here’s something I’ve been meaning to post for a week or so.
Think of it as a blogging meatloaf: sure, it’s not as fresh as it was a few days ago, but if you reheat it and put some barbeque sauce on top, it’s still pretty tasty.
Anyway, back in Bangkok, Katherine and I took a day to venture up the river and see some sights in the older section of downtown. Among the things we decided to check out was Wat Something-or-Other, an ancient Buddhist temple that features a huge statue of Buddha in a reclining position. He’s sort of laying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow.
Laura refers to this pose as the “Sexy Buddha,” which amuses me.
We bought a ticket to see this thing, and I was thinking,
I’ve seen some big Buddhas on this trip already. What’s going to be so cool about this one?
It was about that time that I turned the corner, entered the temple, and…whoa!
Holy Indiana Jones! That thing is enormous!
I know it probably doesn’t come through in the pictures, but this thing was huge. Trust me, I was there.
We walked around the Temple of Doom for a while, noticing the intricate artwork. The Buddha’s feet are inlaid with detailed mother-of-pearl engravings. Every wall surface of the temple is covered in beautifully painted murals.
I reflected on the level of craftsmanship involved in creating all of this, the long, tedious hours of painting tiny little details on a wall three stories above the ground. I expected that pity for the laborers would surface in my heart, because their hours of labor were in vain: fruitless gifts to non-existent gods. But instead, I found myself admiring them a little. What devotion they must have had. What oneness of purpose. What a hunger to please the one they worshipped.
We aren’t like that so much. We get upset when our worship service runs fifteen minutes over. We look for ways to
keep from doing extra work at church. The idea of spending hours doing tediously repetitious tasks in the service of our Lord would make most of us cringe and run the opposite direction.
Why is that? Could it be that these ancient Buddhists were more devoted to their fake god than we are to the Real One?
Lord Jesus, light a fire in your people to love You more, and teach us to pour out our lives in serving You. Amen.
