THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
WHY ARE WE HERE?
MATTHEW 22:37-38
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."
OUR PRIORITY MUST BE TO LOVE AND OBEY OUR GOD!
TO LOVE GOD.
Do we really understand what this means?
I am convinced that many in this generation have not received the instruction necessary to fully understand what loving God entails. We are more than ready to give lip service to loving God
as long as God meets our expectations of him, but when the going gets tough we begin to think that perhaps God has abandoned us and left us to fend for ourselves and our love shrivels up and in some cases dies. To be honest with myself and everyone else in the Christian world, that kind of love is not love at all!
God doesn't deserve our love merely because of what he gives us in this earthly realm other than the wonderful gift of salvation we have freely received from him. God is not compelled to act in any way that is inconsistent with his nature, and sometimes that nature will withhold things if there is a necessity to withhold them for the good of his children. Wise, loving earthly parents most certainly understand this because they often deny what their children may request for the children's sake. Because God forever sees the beginning from the end, we should understand and be grateful that he doesn't grant us some of the things we ask for. We should also remember that in some cases there will be a delayed response from God, and we must learn to be patient until God provides the things we ask for until the time is right and we are truly ready to receive them. God doesn't make any mistakes of any kind because he is all-knowing and perfect It is impossible for him to fail in any measure because a perfect being will never fail to do anything less than perfect, and God is wholly perfect in every aspect of his being!
I am convinced that many in this generation have not received the instruction necessary to fully understand what loving God entails. We are more than ready to give lip service to loving God
as long as God meets our expectations of him, but when the going gets tough we begin to think that perhaps God has abandoned us and left us to fend for ourselves and our love shrivels up and in some cases dies. To be honest with myself and everyone else in the Christian world, that kind of love is not love at all!
God doesn't deserve our love merely because of what he gives us in this earthly realm other than the wonderful gift of salvation we have freely received from him. God is not compelled to act in any way that is inconsistent with his nature, and sometimes that nature will withhold things if there is a necessity to withhold them for the good of his children. Wise, loving earthly parents most certainly understand this because they often deny what their children may request for the children's sake. Because God forever sees the beginning from the end, we should understand and be grateful that he doesn't grant us some of the things we ask for. We should also remember that in some cases there will be a delayed response from God, and we must learn to be patient until God provides the things we ask for until the time is right and we are truly ready to receive them. God doesn't make any mistakes of any kind because he is all-knowing and perfect It is impossible for him to fail in any measure because a perfect being will never fail to do anything less than perfect, and God is wholly perfect in every aspect of his being!
God demands and deserves our obedience!
Some Christians find it difficult to understand why God would require obedience from them. This is a
question generally asked of young Christians who
have not dealt with failure in the spiritual life they
have been called to. The mature Christian learns by
disobedience or the foolish notion that he or she is
better equipped to judge than God concerning what
to do, where to go or how to handle a situation. As
each experience teaches its valuable lesson, young
Christians become seasoned veterans of decisions
that went bad. The learning process is sometimes
very difficult, and those who survive the process in time learn that "Father knows best!"
Considering that God has always existed in eternity past, present and future and knows everything in the minutest detail, it is amusing that we somehow think that he still needs our instruction and help in life's decisions. His commandments do not present
a problem to the wise because they understand he has their best interests at heart and never will let them experience anything that is not needed in the course of their lives and through all the vast ages
of eternity. Loving God should be easy to us, and
that love should lead to unquestioning obedience. We should desire to be like angels who always obey!
Some Christians find it difficult to understand why God would require obedience from them. This is a
question generally asked of young Christians who
have not dealt with failure in the spiritual life they
have been called to. The mature Christian learns by
disobedience or the foolish notion that he or she is
better equipped to judge than God concerning what
to do, where to go or how to handle a situation. As
each experience teaches its valuable lesson, young
Christians become seasoned veterans of decisions
that went bad. The learning process is sometimes
very difficult, and those who survive the process in time learn that "Father knows best!"
Considering that God has always existed in eternity past, present and future and knows everything in the minutest detail, it is amusing that we somehow think that he still needs our instruction and help in life's decisions. His commandments do not present
a problem to the wise because they understand he has their best interests at heart and never will let them experience anything that is not needed in the course of their lives and through all the vast ages
of eternity. Loving God should be easy to us, and
that love should lead to unquestioning obedience. We should desire to be like angels who always obey!
I John 4:7-8 - God is Love!