And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD. — Genesis 8:20
Something that has always been amazing is the idea of altars from scripture. When we think of an altar, many of us think of the area at the front of the church where we may bow in prayer to God. Scripture is clear than an altar is not necessarily in church, however.
Throughout the Old Testament, we read the scripture where Abraham built altar after altar. Moses built altars. Time and again, these stories we read to hear and learn about altars that were built giving little thought to the concept behind them.
That is, an altar is a place of sacrifice and worship. It is a place where someone may sacrifice their own sins, their own wants and desires, submitting themselves to God. It is a place of appreciation and dedication for what God has done. Many altars were built for God simply answering a prayer, providing guidance, or many other significant items in the lives of those in the Bible.
Just like they had their altars, so do we. No, they may not be in the physical sense built of rocks or wood and built for sacrifice, but we have altars nonetheless. If you have given your life to Christ and accepted Him as Savior, you have an altar in your life you can go back to where you submitted to Him. I will never forget the altar where I bowed and gave my heart to Christ. While the buildings or scenery may be different, it is still an altar that I can go back to.
We also find in scripture that there are many altars that we should not have. In Exodus, God told the people to tear down altars that were to other gods. They were worshipping idols, or perhaps as in Acts they were worshipping an “unknown god.” The types of altars that we have are important.
What kind of altars do we have in our lives? Are they altars built for sacrifice and worship to God, or do we have a life filled with altars to the many other things that can stand in the way of God? Can we go back in our lives to the altars that we have and remember what God has done for us?
Throughout our lives, we are creating altars to something. Those altars are either built for God or they are built for something else. If you look back over your life, what kind of altars do you see?
