How can you know if God is pleased with you? You know He loves you because the Bible says He loves the world, that is, He loves everybody; but is He happy, pleased, with you personally?
We can't evade what Jesus Says--in the final judgment He will be forced to tell "many" people who expect Him to congratulate them, "I never knew you!" (Matt. 7:22, 23). He loved those people, yes; but He was never one with them. The same picture emerges in the Book of Revelation when He feels forced to tell "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans," "You make Me so sick at My stomach I feel like throwing up!" (3:16; that's what the literal Greek says--cf. Peterson's The Message rendition). The people so addressed have been naive, thinking that "all is well" with them, feeling "rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing" and naked in public (vs. 17). They were so self-deceived they thought Jesus was pleased with them.
If there is anything we want to avoid, it's ending up in that naive condition. What can we do?
(1) Pray David's Psalm 51, realizing that we have no innate goodness of our own. It's only the grace of Christ that has saved us from whatever sins somebody else may be guilty of (that's the reality of corporate guilt). The ones the Lord is pleased with are those of Isaiah 66:2, "To this man will I look; even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word."
(2) The Lord doesn't go around behind your back, hiding reality from you. Have a frank visit with Him and ask Him straight out, "Lord, are You pleased with me?" You know He loves you for He loves everybody; but what you want to know is, "Lord do you KNOW me? Am I 'this man' to whom you 'look'?"
Stay on your knees; He will receive you and He will answer your prayer. In fact, that's the precise business that Jesus is in just now!
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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