What Matters to God

~~~ Ephesians 2:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ Luke 12:13-21 ~~~

 

What matters to God?

 

"...For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast."

 

 

If we do not have our priorities in the right order it matters little what we do.

Because what matters to God is often not what matters to us.

We saw a prime example of this just yesterday in the Gospel reading.

James and John wanted to sit on either side of Jesus;

hoping to be the beneficiaries of special favors.

 

Often the things that matter to God are not tangible.

Often the things that matter to God are from the heart.

Often the things that matter to God are not about us at all,

but rather about others.

 

Jesus came to restore us to himself.

God saw that humankind was struggling.

They were not able to determine

what really mattered to God.

God was not interested in the sacrifice of animals.

 

God was interested in us allowing him to be our shepherd.

 

"...we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them."

 

We do not need to build bigger barns to hold what matters to God.

God does not want us focus solely on our physical inheritance.

What matters to God is the inheritance he has prepared for us.

The inheritance given to because we belong to him.

He has claimed us for his own.

 

 

There is no need for us to hoard our material things.

In the heavenly kingdom material things matter not.

It is best if we do not lose sight of what matters to God.

Most of the saints had few possessions.

The saints practiced on keeping their priorities on God.

The saints provide models for each of us.

 

Material things are not bad in themselves;

it is the priority we place upon them in our life.

God will certainly not condemn us for prospering in this world,

but it is also our duty to prosper in what matters to God.

 

I does not matter to God if I have 20 pairs of shoes, but

it does matter to him if I spend 20 minutes in prayer

or extend kindness to 20 people this week.

 

Here is your challenge for this week:

For every pair of shoes you own make the effort to extend

a special greeting to

that many people.

Give to those individuals what matters to God the most...

Love.