Nearer my God to Thee

One block down the street from our quaint little house is a Catholic Church. As the bells ring out on Sundays, our streets become full of people coming to worship- on foot, bike, motorcycles (motors), and cars. With my windows open, I can hear the reverent worship of the choir, what sounds to me like, "Nearer my God to Thee". When I think upon it, this seems ironic to me since the rules and additions to the Gospel burden one down and draws one further from intimacy with the Father. I was reading in Ephesians today and was reminded that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." This weekend we have been hosting a sweet couple from our home church, and we took them to see La Plata and Buenos Aires. In La Plata is a gorgeous Catholic Cathedral which we got to visit yesterday. Inside was awe-inspiring, with the huge domed ceilings, paintings, stain-glassed windows, and statues of saints lining the walls. Last night though, Mia was troubled. "Mommy, why did we have to go inside that place with all those statues that the people pray to like gods? It's so silly and sad. Why do they pray to Mary like she is God?" Her little spirit was troubled at the sight that we just thought was beautiful. She saw past the beauty to the heart of the matter. "Well Mia, that is one of the reasons we are here. To tell these people that salvation is through faith alone, that what Jesus did was enough!" When inspected more closely, the awe-inspiring, God-focused beauty that sometimes surrounds you is no more than a man-centered theology of "I can do it". What beautiful things are in your life that are really covering up a deeper, "Look what I can do; I must try harder" mentality?