God’s Expectations

 

What is it that God expects of us as His children? In the denominational world, some would say nothing, that once you confess Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, you cannot be lost, so any lifestyle will be okay with God. Others insist that God will work His will in you, that you can’t accomplish anything anyway, so whatever you offer must come from God and will therefore please Him. While they acknowledge the Bible does have commands for Christian living, the reasoning goes He knows you will never measure up, so it’s all good. For others, what God expects is dependent on the conditions one faces. If it’s convenient to obey God, fine, but if that changes, that’s okay as well. Even in the Lord’s church, the idea of submission to the will of God varies greatly. What is it that God expects of His children?

 

In reality, what one believes about God’s expectations greatly depends on where one’s heart is. Whether one looks for excuses and exemptions from serving Him, or seeks His will genuinely and devotedly, depends on how much one loves, how much one entrusts his or her life to God, how much one understands all that has been given to us freely by God through His Son. As Jesus pointed out, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47). We all are forgiven much, because the price of redemption is the blood of Christ. How can one think of the Son of God becoming flesh (John 1:14), living a sinless life while being tempted in all ways (Heb. 4:15), enduring the agony of the cross (Isa. 53:5), and not be touched deep inside, so one wants to respond by surrendering one’s life to Him? If we truly love, will we not truly want to live for Him?

 

I’ve heard some express the sentiment that, once one is immersed, we’re in God’s grace and no matter how one lives, basically it’s all good. In that statement is a lack of understanding on how much God loves us, and how little we must love Him to say that. Shouldn’t we desire to crucify self to allow Christ to live in us (Gal. 2:20)? Shouldn’t Christ be our life (Col. 3:4)? Which commands of God are we exempt from seeking (John 15:10)? Can we ignore seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)? Isn’t the kingdom of heaven promised to those who do the will of the Father in heaven (Matt. 7:21)? Where does our Lord say we can choose to live for self and have the promise of eternal life (Heb. 5:9)?

 

None of us will keep the will of God perfectly, but that isn’t the point. Whether we do our best for Him or not is. No matter the external circumstances, God expects us to sacrifice for Him, as Jesus did for us. John reminds us, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). As one missionary put it years ago, we should ask ourselves, are we standing on the promises or sitting on the premises? God’s grace is sufficient for us, but we should offer our best to be recipients of His grace. From the beginning, God created good works for us to live in (Eph. 2:10), and by His grace we can still do this. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12).

 

The real question we must ask ourselves when considering what God expects of us is how much does He love us, and how much do we love Him? Whether we live for Christ, or seek exclusions from doing so, is a matter of the heart. God’s word, Scripture, is clear on His expectations for us as Christians. It isn’t ignorance that keeps us from living for the Lord, but a lack of love. How do you respond to the love of God and His expectations for your life in Him? “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

 

μαράνα θᾶ (1 Cor. 16:22)

Robert