1 Corinthians 4:1- This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
You have given me a gift
So that I could give You a gift
But the gift that You have given to me
Is not the gift that You want in return
Lord, let me use Your gift to me as a tool to give You the gift that You desire!
What is it that God wants from me? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Does He want me to read the Bible and pray? Does He want me to use my resources to help the less fortunate? What is it that pleases God?
I think of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Wow! When I look at this passage, it eliminates all of the things that I would look at and say to myself, “God must be pleased with me...”
I think what Paul is getting at in this passage is that, though these things are great to display in and through our lives, they are not the point! He's saying that when I get focused on the gift instead of the Giver of the gift, I have missed it.
So, what IS it that God wants from us? It is so simple that it will blow your mind! What God wants from me is.... ME! God's ultimate goal is to have relationship with you and I. Everything that you and I DO in our lives should be focused on growing that relationship and perpetuating it everywhere we go and to everyone we meet.
Should we read the Bible? Yes! Should we pray? Absolutely! Every chance we get. Should we reach out to those in need? Jesus modeled it and commissioned us to follow in His steps; but our FOCUS should be on connecting with God. Whether I read 1 verse in my Bible today, or 18 chapters, I need to connect with God. Whether I pray 5 minutes today or 2 hours, my goal should be to connect with God; and as I live my life connected to God, He will direct me to speak and act in a way that will draw others to Himself.
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