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I am a parent.
As a parent, I want certain things for my children. I want them to be safe. I want them to be loved. I want them to be confident. I want them to find their identity in Christ. I want them to feel confident and empowered to share their faith and walk through life with confidence. I want them to be healthy – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I want them to have good friends and relationships. I don’t want them to be lonely. I want them to be joyful, happy, and at peace. I want them to walk in their calling so that they do not feel they are “working” a day in their life.
I want them to live for Christ. I want them to be known as unselfish people who serve and love others. I want them to be known as givers. I want the best for them. I don’t want them to be hurt. I don’t want them to be in pain. I want them to experience all this world has to offer as far as walking with God is concerned.
God is also a parent. He is my parent. He is your parent. He is the Creator of the human race and He also wants many of the same things for us.
What does God want most for us?
He wants for us to experience the joy and peace which surpasses all human understanding and experience (see Philippians 4:7). This joy and peace are born out of perfect love. In perfect love, we know we are accepted, forgiven, empowered, called, loved, and chosen.
A basic human instinct is to be wanted, to know that our life matters, to know we make a difference. God knows that – He created us! The problem comes in when we want our life to matter, or we want to make a difference, in ways that are not in alignment with the way God intended us to be. God intended us to point people toward Him.
God intended us to glorify Him by how we live our life in order to point others toward Him, so that they ultimately may experience this awesome joy and peace. That is what God wants most for us as our parent. Along the way, He will provide the things we need and want, like safety, belonging, feeling worthy and forgiven, but we must respond to Him if we are to experience these things! We have a part to play and a choice to make every day. You have a big decision today:
How will you respond to your great Father who wants the best for you in His perfect love?
