Bribery

 

Today’s devotional in the Love Expressed series is about your motives for worship.  Do you worship as a requirement to appease GOD?  Do you worship to earn favor?  Are you worshiping him with gratitude for your salvation? 

Until now you have probably only experienced conditional love. Conditional love is based upon what you do. Perform well on the job, on the team, or in the relationship, and you are “loved.”

 

We conclude that because our lives have so many troubles, God is obviously disappointed in us. We think that if we can become someone God would want to be around, we’ll be someone He wants to bless. Such messages are then followed by a formula to get the job done—anything from moral living to having faith.

We don’t have to worship to appease GOD because he has already given us forgiveness, acceptance, love, and the honor of knowing Him.  GOD has cancelled your debts, brought you from the darkness, into the light, and gave you the greatest treasure of all—a relationship with him.

When GOD forgives, He forgives completely. There are no strings attached to His love and mercy. They are freely given, because of who He is, because of His perfect nature and character. There is no earning of His compassion, no deserving on our part. He does not say that we must become perfect before we can share in His redemption and reconciliation.

GOD desires to have a close, intimate relationship with man; in fact, He was willing to pay the highest price possible -- the life of Jesus, His only Son. That sacrifice squared the past, exonerated us in spite of whom and what we are. Christ's death paved the way, broke down the wall of partition, and opened the door to allow free access to our Father in heaven.

Our relationship with GOD is the best relationship we have.  GOD’s promise to love and care for us is fulfilled by his performance of doing so. GOD never turns his back on us.