A Day On a Cali Campus: Edgar and His Family Idol

Today I spent all day at UCSD sharing my faith with some top notch students from around the country.

UCSD is an interesting animal of a campus. They are incredibly smart. Their library is designed to be the “tree of knowledge”. There is even a long sidewalk shaped like a snake that stretches hundreds of feet next to the library. We heard today that this liberal University is allowing students to put student-made pornographic videos on the campus TV network for the whole campus to see.

The students are chasing after noble things. One of the students I met with today, Edgar, is a non-practicing Catholic who said that is greatest goal in life is to have a great family.

Having a wonderful family is a great thing, but if it is the end goal, life will be much less than what God intended it to be.

If you are like Edgar, you need to know that if family is your ultimate object of worship, comfort, and security then you are in danger. What if a member of your family dies? What if your spouse leaves you? What if your child doesn't become an “A” student or a star athlete?

If any of these things happen, it will result in depression or bitterness. Why? Because the thing (in this case family) that we make an idol or god, if fractured or destroyed, will leave us with nothing to fall back on. Hope, comfort, and security will be stripped away from us.

The good news is that Jesus confronts family idolatry and offers a better solution. He died on the cross so that we could have the opportunity to have Him be the supreme object of worship in our lives rather than family. And if we trust in Him, our families actually become better!

How?

If someone in your family passes away (and Jesus is supreme in your life), He offers to be your comfort and offers to give you hope that you will get to see your family member again. If your spouse leaves you (and Jesus is supreme in your life), He will remind you that He will never leave or forsake you. If your child doesn't meet your academic or athletic standards (and Jesus is the supreme in your life), you will be able to love your child unconditionally since Jesus loved you without any conditions even though You didn't meet his expectations.

Family is a good thing, but when made ultimate, becomes a very bad thing. Jesus is Edgar's only hope to have the family he desires.