A question may people are asking is this one: "God, what do you want from
me?"
The concern about this question is why we ask. Some people, like rebellious teenagers, may be asking because they seek their own independence; however,
such independence is not possible. We will always be dependent upon our
Creator.
We might like to think we can get by just fine on our own but we can
no more do so than a baby can provide for itself, or a car can take care of
its own maintenance.
Some people say that if there is a God, they don't need
him, but they do. Do not try to divorce yourself from God's authority and oversight. We
all really do need him. Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing."[i] If
you are not relying on the Lord, you must be running from him.
You may be asking “What does God want from me?” because you have
a legitimate desire to know. This is good. We should all
care about what God wants, desires and requires. He is our Creator, Lord and
Master. It is right for him to expect certain things of us. Surely the sincere
seeker will want to know what those things are.
He Wants Us to Obey Him.
He
wants us to: honor him and treat our fellow humans well and fairly.
He
gave us the Ten Commandments to express this desire:
- You shall have no other gods.
- You shall not make graven
images to worship.
- You shall not take the name of
the LORD (Yahweh) your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day to
keep it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet ...
anything that is your neighbor's.[ii]
I am struck not only by how much God cares
about how we respect him but also by how much he loves people so that
he would set these guides upon our behavior toward each other. These commands
encompass:
- Our worship,
- Our finances,
- Our business dealings,
- Our social activities,
- Our speech,
- Our family lives and even
- Our thought processes.
He Wants Us to Love Him.
"'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[iii]
The heart attitude God wants from us is the attitude of love.
The prophet Micah summed
up all that God wants from us in these words:
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,To love mercy,And to walk humbly with your God?
This sounds very simple – basically doing what is right but showing mercy to those who come short of it, and then to be humble toward God. The big problem is that none of us can live up to any of these standards and/or commands. We all fall short of what God expects from us [iv].
Where does this leave us in relation to him? It leaves us alienated
from him. God is holy and will not tolerate our rebellion and disobedience.
Something must be done to reconcile us back to God! God has done just that!
He Wants Us to Trust Him.
God’s word in the book
of Romans, tells us that even when we were “without strength,” … “ungodly,” … his
“enemies,” and “still sinners,” that he “died for us,” “justified us,” “saved
us,” and “reconciled us.”[v]
“How can I know if I’m
saved?” you may ask. You can know you are saved if you believe in Jesus.[vi]
What does God want from
me? He wants you and me to believe on him and to believe on his Son, Jesus
Christ, whom he has sent – and, for those who do, he has freely provided for
forgiveness for our sins and coming short of obeying all he has said.
Jesus Christ has met all the requirements
that God has made upon our lives that we cannot live up to. He meets them through
his own righteousness that we could not otherwise attain. Through faith in his death and resurrection that righteousness is secured.
You can believe it.
You can believe it.
[i] John
15.5
[ii]
Exodus 20.1-17
[iii]
Matthew 22.37-39
[iv]
Romans 3.10
[v]
Romans 5.6-10
[vi]
John 6.47
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