Asakusa temple: one of the largest Buddhist temples in Tokyo
I wrote this in July after my first visit to the temple. I hope it challenges you as it did me.
Radiant Faces...
Listening to the sound of coins clanging against an empty metal box combined with the chants of men’s tongues to idols and beating drums only causes our cries to the LORD to be louder. Standing in the midst of Japanese and foreigners with cameras throwing coins in a box, wishing for good fortune from an empty idol, absolutely broke my heart. And I thought about how much more it must break the heart of God to watch His creation, made in His image, worship something other than the Creator. I did not know darkness could be so thick in the middle of a sunny summer day.
At the Asakusa temple watching idol worship, I stood there praying for the temple to be destroyed and for hearts to turn back to God and at time the only word that came to my mind was the name of Jesus. As the chants got louder and the drums stronger I wanted to scream “stop!” at the top of my lungs. Yet all I could do was stand, crying within my soul. One of the hardest things to watch was the faces of those, who had just thrown their coins into a box, walk away unchanged with the same hopelessness that brought them up the steps of the temple. They come looking for hope, peace, joy, healing, love and leave with empty pockets and emotionless faces.
After Moses came down from being with GOD his face was “radiant.” (Exodus 34:29-35). It was literally all over his face that he had been with the LORD. Even though we have not literally stood face to face with GoD or even seen the edge of His back, do we not have His Spirit living within our very being? So in the same way should our faces not be radiant? Shouldn’t others be able to clearly see that we are with the LORD? No wonder the world chooses to worship empty idols. They see nothing different in our faces. We are not showing the radiance of GOD’s glory. As the beloved of GOD we either get caught up in being “relevant” and forget to be Holy, to stand out or we either try to be too ”perfect” and forget we are human. We are still on this earth to live life to the fullest; to radiate His glory so that our faces are different. If we truly lived others would desire to do the same.
