- LIVING IN GOD’S WILL / ETERNAL PURPOSE
As we have seen, God chose us before the creation of the world to be “united with Christ, holy and without fault in His eyes; adopted into His own family, purchased to be His own people … so we would praise and glorify Him” (Eph. 1:3-5, 14)
God’s will for you and me, for the church, for the people of God (Israel) can be summarized in one word: RELATIONSHIP. Finding His will for our lives involves turning to Him with all our hearts, fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebr. 12:2), coming to Him as a child.
As long as I still have ambitions to do great things for Him, to achieve anything by my own endeavours, my eyes are not fixed on Him, and I miss His will for my life. Why? Because I am still separated from Him in my thoughts, plans and purposes. My focus is on myself and what I do for Him.
In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
How, then, is a child? A child desires to always be close to his father. His love for his father rules his thoughts and actions. He speaks to his father about every little thing. He delights to be busy with his father, to help, fetch, carry – most of all, to sit in his father’s lap, rest his head on his father’s breast and be held close. He has no program of his own but wishes to be included in all of his father’s activities.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
In Matthew 25 Jesus compares the church in the last days before His return to 10 virgins awaiting the bridegroom by the side of the road. But only five of them accompany him to the wedding banquet. To the others he says, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
In John’s Gospel he records in detail the words of Jesus during the final evening he spent with His disciples (Chapters 13-17). The theme of these chapters could be summarized in one word: RELATIONSHIP. And the definition of this relationship is LOVE expressed in obedience. In fact, without love, there is no obedience. And a lack of obedience exposes a lack of love.
God’s will for my life is to transform me into the image of His Son. First, I am IN CHRIST, then I become more and more like Him as I grow closer to my Father in love.
I become:
- Thankful in everything – 1 Thess 5:18 … give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus
- Transformed in mind – Rom 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may learn what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God
- Humbly obedient to God – Phil 2:5-8 – You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God
- Patient under suffering – Hebr 10:36 – Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.
1 Peter 4:1, 2 – …since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.
In this life there is no place for personal ambition and personal achievement, no desire to do great things for God, only to be a useful instrument for God to use as He works out His will. Paul instructed Timothy: “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behaviour.”
In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honourable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work (2 Tim 2:15, 16, 20-22).
Precious Father God, I ask You to make me useful for Your use. Purify me so that others will see Jesus in me, and not see me. Amen
Elzeth Malherbe