Idol?

I really loved Mr. Fenske's chapel message today.  I think it is a challenge to ask ourselves: what would fill this blank?  "Without ____________ I couldn't live." 

I feel that this is a bit more black and white than life is really like, though.  There are many things that I would put in this blank: "Without _____________ I can't imagine living."  There are things that are so much a part of the fabric, the tapestry, that we call our "life."  To pull one strand out is to change the image of that tapestry forever.  Jesus yearns for us to find, give, and receive love, not just with himself, but with others too.  And for that reason, things that go in this blank do not necessarily become idols.

Yet, we ought to be wary of the things that fill that blank.  The things that go there go so close to our heart that they can change us.  That can be wonderful or that can be tragic, or in some cases, pathetic. 

Still, there is a difference between: "Without ________ I couldn't live."  and "Without _________ I can't imagine living."  If we lose things in the first blank, we have lost our 'god.'  Life becomes meaningless and we lose sight of our value to the world around us.  If we lose things in the second blank, we may be destroyed, utterly, yet at the base of all the rubble and when the dust settles we can say, "To Whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life." 

Only one thing fits in the first blank.  "Without my Father I couldn't live."  Everything in the depth of our souls knows that this not only fills in the blank, but erases the blank entirely.