I’ve grown up in Christian circles all my life. My grandparents and parents were instrumental in  birthing  a fledgling church in my home town. It grew and flourished to become one of the largest and most vibrant ministries in the area.

However, one of the things I witnessed over my 50+ years of being in churches and working in ministries is that many church people feel tons of pressure to perform up to certain expectations within the church community. “Keep the rules,” “don’t do this,” “do do that” seemed to be the focus.

But is that really what God wants from us? Doing stuff for Him? Is He merely interested in dutiful followers who “get’r done?” Really? Is that it? Is that all that God wants from us?

I know–and wholeheartedly believe–that obedience is crucial. The Bible makes that clear. King Saul and his sons lost the claim to the throne of Israel because he didn’t obey what God had commanded him to do (1 Sam. 15:22).

John makes a case for obedience in one of his last NT letters: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands’ (2 John 6).

But is that all there is? Is doing my devotions faithfully enough? Or is there something more? Could it be that God desires my devotion to Him more than doing my devotions for Him?

Brent Curtis and John Eldredge describe it this way in The Sacred Romance:

“He (God) is concerned about all these things, of course, but they are not his primary concern. What he is after is us–our laughter, our tears, our dreams, our fears, our heart of hearts. How few of us truly believe this. We’ve never been wanted for our heart, our truest self, not really, not for long. The thought that God wants our heart seems too good to be true.” (p. 91).

The parable Jesus told about the lost son in Luke 15:11-32 seems to bear that out.  The story is not primarily about the lost or the obedient son. The focus is on the heart of the father whose delight was the presence of his sons. Whether a runaway or a homebody, having his children with him was his greatest delight. Jesus wanted his audience to catch a glimpse of His Father’s heart.

And what is His heart?

Simply put, the joy of God is the presence of his children. Likewise, it was that same joy that motivated Jesus to endure the suffering of the cross so that in the end, he would be able to lead many sons and daughters into glory (Heb. 2:10-11; 12:2) where the presence of God is the “fullness of joy” for those who love him too (Ps. 16:11).

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...