We're all trying to do the right thing. Are We?

I have often tried to convince myself that most of us are out there trying to do the right thing. There is a lot of truth to that statement but upon furthur review of it I can see a lot of room for error. The problem with the statement is the premise. A premise is an assertion or belief that allows us to base our conclusions. When we do what is right in our own eyes then we are satisfied because we have met our own self-imposed standard. Are our standards right though? God creates us and we decide to live by our own set of rules. There is something very wrong with our premise. I've lived this way many times. I've arranged solutions to many of my problems so they seem right in my own eyes and yet down deep inside I've known that something wasn't right.

Proverbs 26:12

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

When I read that scripture then I know that I have been fooling myself many times. We cannot act as if this life is all about our destiny, our control, our kingdom because at the end we will find the opposite. We will find reality. We will see that this was God's planet and His creation and that we were to live our life in devotion to Him and that we were to be about His plan while on earth.

Maybe we think His plan is too restrictive. Maybe we think that He wants us to be holy and boring. That's our own conclusions as well, once again based on our human premise. I've heard people say these things about church and God. The picture that we have painted is the wrong one. God is a Father and He loves to see His children live out their life with the creative gifts that He gave them. He just wants included like any natural father. The stakes are higher with God the Father. You can ignore your own dad and that's not good but ignoring our Father in Heaven costs you so much more. Too much of our thinking about God seems to be linked to our church life in America. That is also a bad connection. Jesus did not like religion. Jesus did not like hanging around a bunch of people acting religious. He didn't even like hanging around some of their ministers.

Jesus loves when people respond to his teachings about the Father. Jesus loves simplicity and He loves relationships. That's why He teaches in parables. He wants us to try and figure out the stories. He wants a conversation with us. He wants a relationship. The relationship is even more important than the answers. That's how many of us feel about our own father. Some of his answers are hard to take but we are sure glad that he is there.

So yeah, we all might be trying to do the right thing but it's probably better that we consult our God. His ways are not our ways for sure but He loved us with everything that He had.

For God So Loved.......