YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN

Can you fathom a God that is already pleased with you? Before Jesus did anything on earth God proclaimed to everyone that he was already pleased with him. How would it change your day if you woke up and knew (I mean really knew) that God was already pleased with you? Like a big fat smile and dancing over you kind of pleasure (see Zephaniah 3:17)? You don’t have to earn his favor. God does not ask us “What have you done for me lately?”

“I wish to God I could believe that.” I’m telling you because of God, you can!

When will we stop believing that little voice in our head that says, “You stink, try harder… run faster… jump higher.” God does not keep raising the quota for you to be acceptable to him. The treadmill has been turned off. It is not required of us to work ourselves into a religious lather to please him.

Philippians 2:13 says that God chose us for his good pleasure. Why? Why does he continue to choose us when we are filthy, selfish, and unworthy? It is because of God’s loving-kindness. Because his pursuit after us is not based on anything we have done or will do. It is not based on duty or obligation. His pursuit is only based on the fact that he cannot do any other thing than pursue us. It is his very nature to do so. That is Old Testament understanding of loving-kindness and the New Testament understanding of grace. God got first-round draft pick and he chose you first! Why? The Bible says because of pleasure. You can’t earn God’s pleasure… you simply have to receive it.

When will we stop trying to wear costumes of Christianity? Costumes telling us we need to spend our money this way, costumes telling us to drink this and not this, costumes telling us to listen to this type of music and not that type, costumes telling us to worship this way and not that other way, costumes, costumes, costumes. We’ve picked them up from many years of well-meaning Christians who think they know what we need to be spiritual! We have far too many costumes in our closets and no identities to dress ourselves in. This results in a religious schizophrenia that satisfies itself by compelling us to do the right things and avoid the wrong things.

We do a great job at urging sinners to repent of their sin. Yet we stink at demanding religious people to repent of their own righteousness. When we only preach to sinners what you get is a church filled with righteous people who think they have no need of repentance. Scary, isn’t it?

Can you fathom a God that is already pleased with you?