Today, I rode a 45 year old elephant through the jungles of Thailand.
I could write an entire blog about how cool the Maesa Elephant Camp was and what I experienced there, but there is one moment from today that’s on replay in my mind.
As we made our way toward where they keep the baby elephants, I looked over and saw what I had been somewhat expecting all day – the shrine of an elephant god in a small sanctuary of sorts, surrounded by offerings and incense.
The culture of Thailand is beautiful and peaceful, so the darkness and idolatry that lurks just under the surface is easy to miss at first glance.
When we arrived in Chiang Mai, my team and I were brought to a Buddhist temple for the day to help us understand the culture that the kids are from and what they're surrounded by on a daily basis.
As I stood in the temple court yard and watched so many people bow and scrape before gold idols of invented gods, lighting candles and asking forgiveness from a piece of carved jade, I was struck by how sad it made me.
The belief that you have to build ornate structures and go through a slew of rituals and ceremonies just to get your god’s attention; that somehow a level of “perfection” can be attained that will win you favor in your next life .. it broke my heart.
Because I know the truth.
I know that I can be anywhere – laying in my tent, in the back of a songtel, or wading through a crowd of people – and I can talk to God. Not a god – but the God. No “bow your head and close your eyes” necessary. I can simply talk to Him as though He’s laying/sitting/walking right there next to me and He hears me.
And guess what .. He hears you too.
You, who've heard that said a million times but never really accepted it.
He hears you and He loves you.
You’re His. He made every last piece of you, and He loves it all.
The good, the bad and everything in between. The parts that you think no one could ever love – He does.
And the beauty of this truth is that there is nothing you could ever do to earn His love – it can’t be bought. There’s nothing you can do to make Him love you more or less than He already does.
But there is incredible freedom in that. To understand that you’re fully known .. and loved anyway. That there’s no need to beg or plead to be heard. Your creator is never more than one breath away.
He already bridged the gap to get to you.
So even if there isn’t a single church building constructed again from now until the end of time, it wouldn’t matter in the least – because if He is in you then you are the church.
No elephant gods required.
