God’s after our hearts, not perfection. After all, we could do everything perfectly and still not have a heart solely devoted to Him.
Just look at the Pharisees for example. They said all the right words, yet they refused to surrender themselves completely to God. Jesus said about them, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8 NIV). So even our prayers and time of worship can be a clanging cymbal to our Lord if we don’t fully surrender ourselves to Him.
Trying to be good enough and earn God’s favor is an age-old problem. That’s why Jesus spent so much time talking about the condition of people’s hearts rather than simply the letter of the law. Consider the answer He gave to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, when discussing how to enter the kingdom of Heaven:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”
(John 3:3).
It’s clear Jesus wanted him focused on his relationship to the Father rather than on what he could do within himself. He’s telling us that same thing today.
Although we’re made in God’s image, we are still human, full of our sin nature. Perfection is not possible. If we let Him, He’ll change our perspective and help us overcome the issues that so easily entangle our hearts.
However, the ball is in our court. We can either continue to cling to the control we think we have or give Him everything and trust Him completely with our lives. One stops us dead in our tracks, paralyzed and unable to move. The other will give us more blessings and freedom than we ever thought possible.
~Roone Acree
Christ Fellowship