“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God …” (1 John 3:1)
When we worship God we give Him the honor He deserves. We acknowledge Him as the great God who is greatly to be praised. We deem Him the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We say we have none in heaven but Him, and none upon earth that we desire beside Him. Our search for “the One” has ended.
Having found the pearl of great price, our back is now to the world and our face is toward God. We have turned from looking in the wrong direction to have our deepest needs and desires met. We are finally convinced that vain is the help of man. We will no longer seek satisfaction from broken cisterns that hold no water. Our God has become the Fountain of living waters to our soul.
“What are we here for?” The question has been answered. We have discovered the purpose of our existence. No longer will we live for ourselves or anyone or anything other than our God, who died and rose again for us. He gave His all for us; we will give our all to Him.
And we will honor Him by not only giving to Him, but by receiving from Him. We will rejoice and boast in a favor we don’t deserve and didn’t earn. We have access by faith into the grace of Another, even our Savior. We are accepted in the Beloved. Our sins have been wiped away, our names have been written in heaven, and we are beloved sons and daughters of the living God. And this unspeakable gift of eternal life is freely ours, bought and paid for by the precious life blood of Jesus Christ. We love Him because He first loved us.
Why should we still want when the Lord has become our Shepherd? Is there reason to look anywhere else for love, for peace, for comfort or help? He who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?
Yes, God wants to be worshipped. He wants to be loved. He wants us to give Him all He deserves. But first, He wants us to receive His love in Christ.
You don’t need to belong to any other when you belong to God. Become His beloved. Be seen. Be known. Be loved by Him.
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine …” (Song of Solomon 6:3)