The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. Proverbs 21:3 NLT
The world teaches us effort and reward; the Word teaches grace and grace. You could do all you can, and it would appear there is no reward for labour. It is because God does not reward on the basis of our own input, but on the basis of his own input. If God has given us his own son freely and completely, then it gives us hope that nothing else will be too difficult for him to give up.
When I have and apply this understanding, I am on the right path to fulfilling God's purpose for me. I realise I cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ, and so I am content relying on that work and pleasing him. I realise I cannot please him in my own strength or wisdom, so I depend on his grace for my daily walk and work. God is please when I depend on him totally, not on my qualifications, connections, position or possessions.
The extreme is when I think that I can find a good substitute for this dependence. He's called me to do right, to do just, and he has supplied the strength to do so. Why abandon this, and think I can please him with activities, with multiple offerings, with sacrifices the world can see and appreciate? God is not man, moved by outward expressions without inner convictions. Your efforts and sacrifices only make sense when they proceed from a heart that is totally yielded to God.
What is the state of your heart? What are your pursuits and priorities? What is important to you: the outward show or the inner witness? His time of favour is here.
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