Bible Question:
Can anyone tell me, when we seek God do we do so by reading the bible and prayer, or do we do so by seeking to do good and in turn seek Gods favor? I'm just really tired of not being sure of which direction to take and I would really like to seek Jesus Christ, but I am not sure in what way would please Him the most so that I can get His attention. I believe salvation is more than a prayer, it is a life change. I want the life change, I want the adventure of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Without it I don't know what I will do. How can I prove to God and myself that I really want Him. Why does it seem so hard? LJ777 |
Bible Answer: LJ, You don't have to prove anything to God, He knows you better than you know yourself. A young man once asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. He responded with: Mat 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Basically, everything else is dependent upon loving God and one of the ways we show this is by loving others (Matt 25:35-40). None of the rituals (devotions, prayer, baptism, tithing, etc) are as important as loving God and loving others (Hos 6.6, Matt 9.13). The problem is, we usually just love others who are like us. We love our friends and not our enemies. However, this is no better than anyone else. To be like the Father, we must love our enemies too. Mat 5:43-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. If you want the life change and want to please God, treat everyone with love. Especially those that hate you, because anyone can love their friends. Nick |