Think Twice About What Gift You are Bringing Him
Today I wanted to talk about a simple, but powerful concern humanity is struggling with. This struggle is the idea that we must do something for God to like us. I am not talking about the idea of self-righteousness, which can play a part in this, but rather a fundamental misbelief that man needs to do things for God to like us.
This might sound strange to some of you, and that’s ok. Today’s post is simply talking to those who believe they need to do something for God to like them. No where in the Bible will you see a verse about how we need to do something for God to like us. Some might say salvation, but this is acceptance of what God’s Son Jesus Christ did for us. Salvation is the willful act of accepting Jesus Christ into your life and acknowledging what He has already done. I am talking about religiosity in sense. For instance, Psalm 40:6 states, “Sacrifice and meal offering you have not desired.” God doesn’t care what we can offer Him. Psalm 51:16 states, “For you do not delight in sacrifice otherwise I would give it, you are not pleased with burnt offering.” God doesn’t want us trying to make Him think we are good. In fact, He knows we are not and wants us to recognize this, Psalm 51:17 states, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
What do I mean by this? I mean God would rather have us bring nothing to the table and cry out to Him for mercy knowing we cannot possibly even think of something pure enough to be in His presence, rather than us bring a gift to Him. Regrettably, if you have been a Christian for more than a day, this struggle has manifested itself in you. However, God is great at pointing it out as we study His Word. The Spirit will guide us directly to the issue and spotlight it for us to see how we are in constant need of Jesus Christ. So what should we do? Look at Proverbs 15:8, “but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” God loves to hear from us because we are His, PERIOD! This is why John 3:16 states, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD (that means He loved you already) that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is why Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God just doesn’t care what we can bring to the table, He loves us no matter what. We need not attempt sacrifices so that He likes us, but rather we should be seeking Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind as it says in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This lesson was so important to Jesus’s ministry on earth that He even assigned it as homework, Matthew 9:13, “Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus believed this principle was so important that He even followed back up with them to tell them they failed to look it up. Matthew 12:7, “But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
In short, remember that God cares more about the heart than what the hands can bring to the table. He cares more about the intentions, than the actions seen by others. And finally, if you haven’t picked up on this yet, He already has declared that He likes you! Not just that, He loves you! And He has already paid the price to bring you into fellowship with Him. No need for a welcoming gift other than our willing hearts to follow Him.
Hold Until Relieved, Our Blessed Hope is Coming,
JL