WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM US? THAT IS SOMETHING FOR WHICH WE CAN BE THANKFUL

What does God want from us? I can point to answers, but why should anyone believe I know the answer. Well, not everyone does, of course.

• Atheists deny God exists. Many even deny they deny God exists. Some Atheists are really into denial.
• Agnostics don’t believe we know whether God exists. Some Agnostics believe we cannot know whether God exists. The latter proudly affirm both your ignorance and their ignorance.
• Buddhists promote Nirvana, whatever that may be.
• Hindus promote many gods.
• Muslims promote Allah. Radical Islamists violently oppose any belief in conflict with their own. This group can be quite dangerous to non-Muslims.
• Judaism promotes a belief in one Almighty and Omniscient God. There is only a relatively small number of Jews, but Judaism is surprisingly important. In addition to the fact that both Muslims and Christians find the roots of their belief in Judaism, many peoples seem obsessed and annihilating the Jews.
• And so forth. There are a large variety of notions as to who God is and what He wants from us.

But what of Christianity? Is Christianity true because I believe in Jesus? No, but Christianity is special because of what it says about God wants from us.

Have you ever carefully examined the nature of Creation?

• From time-to-time we invent new ways of seeing further out into space, and each time we do we find that there is still more we cannot see.
• From time-to-time we invent new ways of seeing smaller and smaller things, and each time we do we find that there is still more we cannot see.
• From time-to-time we invent new ways of sorting out the amazing complexity of our world, and each time we do we find that what our Lord God has created is still more intricate and complicated than we ever imagined.

How are we to survive in a universe so vast, complicated, and dangerous? What is the purpose of our lives? Are we just here today and gone tomorrow. Is death the inevitable fate of everything that ever was and ever will be? Will in time Creation itself just creep and crawl to a frozen stop?

The Bible gives us hope. Why? We know we cannot alter our ultimate fate, but the Bible says God can and will, but what do we have to do?

There is a day of judgement. On that day, God will judge each of us and determine whether or not we have done what He has commanded us to do. Have you read the Bible? Have you studied the Bible and tried to discern what it says to us? Would you like to see an example of how that is done? May I suggest you read the following? Note that the further we get into irtfyblog‘s post the better it gets.

The first two parables in Matthew 25 were preludes to something much greater, and both parables taught us a few things, but the basics were this…

The parable of the ten virgins was never about the ten virgins, the lamp or the journey. It wasn’t even about the bridegroom.  Furthermore, the parable of the three slaves was never about the slaves, nor was it about the master or the physical work the slaves did.

Regarding both parables, we see that the message Jesus preached was about two things of far greater value than physical works or abilities.  Those two things are Faith and the Gospel of Jesus and what Jesus and the Father accomplished through the cross.

To sum it up, Jesus was conveying that the Oil from the first parable was significantly more important than anything else.  The reason is because the Oil is the faith that lights our lamps, and the lamp is the message of the gospel that brings light into the world; therefore, when combined together, faith and the gospel will lead humans out of the darkness of sin and continue to provide much needed light in our lives while we journey to meet Jesus (the bridegroom) upon His return.

As for the second parable, the Coin…or talent…was more important than anything else in that parable because the Coin is the Gospel of Jesus that we have been entrusted with.  We are required by God (the Master) to invest the gospel in other humans around the world.  Furthermore, the investment of the gospel must be done so in faith, and by doing so, that investment will reap dividends for the kingdom of God.

Consequently, it would be unwise for anyone to think that the first two parables were only for a specific group of people, because the message of each parable is clearly meant for everyone who walks this earth at any point in history.

That being said, both of those parables are segues into the most mis-interpreted passage of scripture in the entire bible . . . That passage being Matthew 25 verses 31 thru 46. 

continued => Ignorance Won’t be an Excuse – Bible Study – Matthew 25:31-46

What is the secret of salvation? We must confess there is a God, and that God is worthy of our obedience, our worship, our trust, and all the love we are capable of giving.