That's okay, He doesn't need me either. It's often good to remind ourselves about this fact. The psalmist of Psalm 50 reminds us of this too.
The Christian life is a continual process of God reminding us of our dependence on Him. We need Him for everything. He is the One who gives us everything. All we have, we owe to God. We must not turn that around, thinking that we are doing Him some kind of favor with whatever we muster up to give to Him.
Ironically, we think we can satisfy Him with what we give to Him... almost like a bribe. If I give so much money to the Lord, then He owes me wealth, peace, and happiness. Or, if I tell so many people about Jesus, then God is bound to me in some way to make me happy. We begin to think that He will have to answer our prayers exactly how we want Him to, because we have gave Him so much. By our offerings and sacrifices to Him, we often try to make God subject to us.
This is where God's words need to be remembered. He says, "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine." He reminds us that if He could possibly ever have a need, He would not be knocking on our doors (as His creatures). Instead, we must remember that we have our constant need for Him. He says in v.15, "and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." He doesn't need our help, we need His, and He is faithful to give it when we call on Him for His glory.
It is important that we keep this truth straight in our thinking. After all, this is one of the foundational truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are never accepted by God on the basis of our works, sacrifices, or offerings to Him. We are only ever acceptable on the basis of the finished work of Jesus on the cross for us. He doesn't need our efforts....He made all the effort necessary for us. The Christian faith will always be more about what God did for us, than what we can do for Him.
Here God is reminding His people that He does not need their sacrifices. Our human tendency is to think that God needs us. We foolishly think that He needs our money, our efforts, our help. The fact of the matter is, God does not need us. We need Him!
The Christian life is a continual process of God reminding us of our dependence on Him. We need Him for everything. He is the One who gives us everything. All we have, we owe to God. We must not turn that around, thinking that we are doing Him some kind of favor with whatever we muster up to give to Him.
Ironically, we think we can satisfy Him with what we give to Him... almost like a bribe. If I give so much money to the Lord, then He owes me wealth, peace, and happiness. Or, if I tell so many people about Jesus, then God is bound to me in some way to make me happy. We begin to think that He will have to answer our prayers exactly how we want Him to, because we have gave Him so much. By our offerings and sacrifices to Him, we often try to make God subject to us.
This is where God's words need to be remembered. He says, "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine." He reminds us that if He could possibly ever have a need, He would not be knocking on our doors (as His creatures). Instead, we must remember that we have our constant need for Him. He says in v.15, "and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." He doesn't need our help, we need His, and He is faithful to give it when we call on Him for His glory.
It is important that we keep this truth straight in our thinking. After all, this is one of the foundational truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are never accepted by God on the basis of our works, sacrifices, or offerings to Him. We are only ever acceptable on the basis of the finished work of Jesus on the cross for us. He doesn't need our efforts....He made all the effort necessary for us. The Christian faith will always be more about what God did for us, than what we can do for Him.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. -Acts 17:24-25
No comments:
Post a Comment