It struck me that much of our Christian parenting can be focused on the dos and do nots in the Bible. Obviously God cares about our moral character or He would not have provided guidelines for behavior in His Word. He does in fact have a standard for living, as much as our culture would like to disagree and make everything subjective and about love. He has also imprinted His image into each human being and thus we have with in us the ability to know right from wrong. Morality does matter, but it is not the most important part of knowing God.
Many Christians go through life simply trying to live their life in a way that would honor God by behaving and thinking appropriately. They work hard to be good. The people who worked the hardest at being good during Jesus’s time on earth were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They wanted so much to keep the law that they made laws around the laws and then made laws around those laws so that they would be miles away from ever breaking one of God’s laws. Jesus does not have very many good things to say about these people, who eventually hung him on the cross to die for the sins that they were committing without even knowing they were committing them.
Jesus made it clear in His teachings and explanations of the Old Testament laws that God is concerned about the condition of our hearts more than our outward behavior. He wants us to seek Him first and love Him best. He wants growth not perfection. He wants love, towards Himself and others to motivate us. He wants us; our affections, our intentions, our inclinations. He is not satisfied with good behavior from someone that He doesn’t know personally. He wants us to be wholly His.
I keep thinking about my babies. I do really love it when they are kind, obedient, responsible; I’m not going to lie, it warms my heart. But what if that was all they were? What if they never talked to me or cared about me? What if they never wrapped their arms around me in love? If they were good, but we had no relationship, would that be enough? Not for me. I want them, all of them. I want the good with the bad because I just want to know them and love them and be loved by them. I think that is what God wants from us. For us to pursue Him and really get to know who is He.
When God created humans He made us so that we could know Him. It’s the part of us that feels guilty because we know something is wrong; the part that knows there is something beyond ourselves; the part that loves and creates and thinks. We are wonderfully made in His image. But that wasn’t enough.
Because He wanted us to choose a relationship with Him and not be forced into it, He gave us the ability to NOT choose Him, which we all do. So in addition to creating us in His image, he adopted us as sons and daughters.
This did not come cheaply. He paid the ultimate sacrifice to ransom us from ourselves and our sin. He left His perfect world and entered ours. That alone shows how much He loves us. He came humbly, as a baby in a manger, lived as a servant available to everyone and willingly died, taking on all the sin and shame of this world though He knew no sin Himself. He did this because He wanted a relationship with me, with you, not because He wanted perfect people. If He wanted that He wouldn’t have given us the choice to choose how we live in the first place.
So how can I be wholly His? How can I seek Him with the persistence of the wise men? With the awe of the shepherds? How can I come and adore Him?
It takes effort, and patience and time. It’s like any good relationship. The more time and effort you invest in getting to know someone the greater love and appreciation you have for that person. I admit this is hard for me because I am so distracted by the things that demand my time. My kids, my house, my electronics beeping to remind me that something life altering has just appeared on Facebook. God is a gentleman. He does not force Himself into our lives. He waits patiently for us to seek Him, to think about Him, to read His Word, and to talk to Him.
I have known about God all of my life and known Him personally for most of my life, but I do not know Him best. I am not wholly His. I worship the gods of our culture just as the Israelites did in the Old Testament. I bow to the gods of money, self-absorption and popularity (otherwise known as political correctness), caring more about what people think about me than my God does. I fit God in where I have time, without too much sacrifice.
He was willing to be wholly mine, when He gave everything He had for me. I don’t want to just be holy. I want to be wholly His. I want Him to not just be proud of the choices I make but the person I am. I am His. I want to adore Him as much as I adore my children and be delighted by what He is doing in my life. I am not there yet, but at least I am aware of that fact. Perhaps next Christmas I will be one step closer.
Yes Lord, we greet Thee
Born this happy morning
Jesus to Thee be all
Glory giv’n
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore him
O come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord