Bronze is a poor substitute for Gold!

King Solomon made a set of 200 brilliant gold shields that adorned his house. Each time he went to God's house he had them carried there. When Shishak the Egyptian king (2 Chronicles 12) came from Egypt he took them back with him as plunder. Later King Reheboam made bronze shields to replace them. The people probably rejoiced to see the new shiny shields, for on the surface they look very similar to gold - they probably fooled the people who didn't look too closely, or the people who hadn't seen the real gold shields. However there is a major problem with bronze - it tarnishes easily. Therefore it takes a lot of energy and attention to keep it resembling gold. And if it is examined closely by anyone who has seen real gold, it soon becomes apparent that it is only a poor substitute for the real thing.

Here's my analogy. God's manifest presence and activity among us is the 'gold' that adorns our lives and our gatherings. It's what causes 'visitors' to exclaim 'ahh ... ooooh wow that's awesome' and brings great joy to us as His house guests. When we lose the 'gold' of his presence (anointing, manifestation of his power and gifts), we often replace it with the 'bronze' of human programs and activities. On the surface the worship or speaking or ministry still looks like gold - but it takes a great deal of energy and attention to keep it from tarnishing (and revealing to people that it was only human, not really God's presence and activity.) Down deep inside we know it's really bronze, but we still don't go for the gold - maybe because we don't know where to look for it, maybe because it costs too much (prayer and fasting and seeking), maybe because we have come to love and value the bronze shields we have made, or ......

What do you think? Are we experiencing the gold of God's presence and activities among us, or are we working very hard on human programs we have substituted to look like he is present?