“For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
The cultural sophistication and technological advances of our modern-day world often make it easy to dismiss those who worshiped inanimate objects in the Old and New Testaments. While we may laugh at the foolishness of those who bowed down to a piece of stone or wood in the Biblical era, we should remember that an “idol” doesn’t have to be constructed from wood, stone, or metal.
You see, an “idol” can be anything that we love, fear, or depend on more than God. Once something has become more important than God in our life, that thing (whatever it is), essentially becomes our “god.” For instance, there are modern-day examples of those who have crafted an idol from a physical possession, a financial asset, or a person. In this respect, an “idol” can represent anything that takes God’s place in our lives.
While the members of the Thessalonian church might have partaken of such idolatry in their past, Paul the Apostle was pleased to acknowledge that they now served “…the living and true God.” We should take careful note of the wording used to describe that process here in 1 Thessalonians 1:9: “…you turned to God from idols.” While other words like reject, dismiss, or renounce might have been used to describe their new attitude towards idolatry, this verse tells us that the Thessalonians “turned to” God instead. This may seem inconsequential until we stop to consider it more closely.
Here’s why: if a person is standing directly between two objects, it is physically impossible to face both of them at the same time. A person who is facing one object must turn his or her back to the other. This presents us with an effective word-picture as well as a self-evident application: if we desire to turn to God, we must, by necessity, turn our backs to any form of idolatry.
Although its possible to return and embrace something that we previously renounced, a person who genuinely turns to God through Christ is someone who has also turned his or her back on idolatry in all its forms. As one source observes, “All of us should respond to the Good News as the Thessalonians did: Turn to God, serve God, and look forward to the return of his Son, Christ, from heaven.” (1)
(1) Life Application Study Bible NKJV [1 Thessalonians 1:9] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers