“Woe unto him who strives with his Maker! …Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’”
Isaiah 45:9
The requirements set forth by Jesus for a good life are simple. Love God with your entire being and love your neighbor as you do yourself. They are easy to say—harder to accomplish. Simple, in this case, does not mean unsophisticated, unintelligent, or unthinking. On the contrary, it means exercising all three in an informed, open-minded, orderly manner.
To love God with all your heart, mind and strength encompasses far more than a saccharine sweet, greeting card sentiment. Love is more than a feeling, it is a fidelity to the purpose, and so, the will of God. To say you love God and to walk in a way that denies His purpose for your life, is to lie not only to God but to yourself.
How does a person know God’s purpose for their life? Ah, that is where study, prayer, mediation, and some trial and error come in. We are to work out our own salvation under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. When Saul became the first king of Israel, he did not get a copy of Being King for Dummies. But that is not to say he was left in the dark.
To be a good king, he was to be a good person. He was to seek God out and do as God asked. Samuel’s admonition when Saul failed was a reminder that obeying God was the way to success. God has a plan for you too and to fight with Him about it only brings sorrow.
As far as loving your neighbor, or yourself for that matter, don’t think of taking on that task in any serious fashion until you first love God. You will end up frustrated and unhappy. You can never really know love until you’ve known God’s love.
That process begins with your personal surrender to God. Repentance is to change your mind about who is going to run your life and give control to God. If you choose to do that, God will not give up and go away. He will see the job through to the end.
The good news in that is that while God is hard to satisfy, He is easy to please. He’s happy with baby steps—as long as you’re a baby. When you grow and discover more about Him, baby steps won’t do. You are expected to mature into an adult life that is producing spiritual fruit. That is The will of God in whatever circumstance you find yourself.
Maranatha
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