How God Wants Us to Live

Parents, bosses, co-workers, even friends put expectations on our life. But so does God. What does God expect of us? How does God want us to live?

God wants us to live in such a way that we put Him before all things. Why? Because He made us to be in relationship with Him. When we put God first, He uses us to meet the needs of those around us and reveal His glory to them.

Why Live For God

First, we ought to ask ourselves why do we want to live for God in the first place?

We see in the Bible how God created us to live in a relationship with Him and how we messed up that relationship when we choose not to follow God, not to live for Him (Genesis 1-3). So, we were made to be in a relationship to God.

A natural instinct of humanity is to seek something, or Someone, greater than themselves. Whether, that’s God, artificial intelligence, science, whatever, there is a natural inclination to relate to something bigger and better than ourselves.

So, we were made to be in relationship with the Divine. But we broke that relationship. We choose not to recognize His authority in our lives. That’s called sin.

It severs our relationship to God permanently. Why? Because our relationship is with God, Someone bigger than us. That relationship is now severed. We aren’t able to fix it. We don’t have the power to do anything, nor the ability to repair such a relationship.

But God can. That’s exactly what He did when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and faced the consequences of those sins through His death on the cross.

Through this, God is able to restore our relationship with Him. To prove that Jesus’ death was sufficient enough to restore our relationship with God, God raised Him from the dead.

So, we should want to live for God, first, because God made us to be in a relationship with Him. Second, because God went to such great lengths to restore our relationship to him.

Now, we have to ask ourselves what is our motive for wanting to live for God? Is it the promises of riches, blessing, and glory promised to those who follow Him? Or is it out of gratitude for His love toward us.

We can ask ourselves why we want to live for God, but the reality is that true life, true living is only found in a relationship with God. Now that we understand a little more about why it’s necessary to live for God, we ought to ask what does God require of us?

What God Requires of our Life

In the Bible there are six hundred thirteen commandments given to the Israelite people. These commandments are how they relate to God and reveal God’s glory to the nations around them.

So, does God require that we follow all 613 commandments today? No. These commandments were for a specific nation at a specific time in history to reveal what God was like to the world through the Israelites.

We find all of these commands fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). The law finds its fulfillment in Jesus and His way of life.

Jesus fully embodies all 613 commandments, and shows us how we are to relate to God and reveal His glory to those around us. So, the only requirement in living for God is that we follow Him.

You see, Israel had these 613 commandments, but they didn’t always follow them. In fact, most of the time they didn’t. That’s what prophet after prophet preached and called the people to repent and restore their relationship with God.

You see, the prophets emphasized not so much their strict adherence to the law, but the condition of their heart. This happens time and time again. We see them say things like:

Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.

Joel 2:13

and Moses writes in Deuteronomy,

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Deuteronomy 30:6

and Jeremiah reminds the people,,

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Jeremiah 4:4

and Micah clearly lays out what God requires,

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Let’s take a moment now and go back to our first question: What is our motive in living for God? Where is our desire in living for God? Why live for God in the first place? Is it simply to follow the rules of how we were raised? Or do we have a genuine love and desire to walk in a relationship with God?

All God requires of our life is to be in relationship to Him. Today, we have that relationship with Him through Jesus. We are called to look like Jesus, become more and more like Christ every day.

That’s how we reveal God’s glory to those around us. That’s how we can have a relationship with God. That’s how we can truly walk humbly, love mercy, and act justly. It’s how we can take care of the poor, orphan, and the widow,

We see all throughout the Bible how righteousness and faith go hand and hand. It is only possible to do right, if we first have a right relationship with God. To do right for God ,we must have that relationship with Him.

We see that in the stories of Noah and Abraham. Noah was a righteous man. He walked with God. And God saved him. Abraham walked in faith, and was able to live righteously in Canaan (perfectly? No, but he was able to reflect God’s glory to those around him).

So, we’ve asked ourselves, “Why do we want to live for God in the first place?”

And we’ve asked ourselves, “What does God require of us?”

Now, let’s turn to how we can live for God.

How To Live for God

Put God First

Let me tell you a story in the Bible where a wealthy young individual approached Jesus and said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, what must I do to have a relationship with God?

Jesus responded, “Keep the commandments. You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; honor your father and mother, etc.”

The rich young man responded that he’s followed all these. Jesus then tells him, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And the young man went away sad he had lots of stuff.

You see, he clung to his stuff more than he clung to his relationship with God. He valued his property more than he valued his relationship with God.

So, is selling all our stuff and giving it to the poor how God wants us to live for Him today? Not necessarily, but He does want to make sure our relationship with Him is of prime importance.

Our relationship with God must come first above everything else, above all other relationships. Above our friends, family, and our physical well-being. Above all our stuff. Our desire for God must be greater than our desire for the world (Matthew 6:33).

Love God, Love Others

Let’s look at another story. There was one time the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious experts and leaders of the day, the greatest theologians and pastors, were debating with Jesus and they asked Him a question, “What is the greatest commandment?” Out of all 613 which one is the best?

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). It’s all about valuing our relationship with God.

Jesus said that the second commandment, the second greatest commandment was like the first one, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ To love our neighbor like we would love ourself.

So, Jesus is saying that if we get our relationship with God right, then our relationships with those around us will be better. Only when we have our relationship with God correct can we most effectively serve those around us and live for God.

That’s what Jesus was challenging the rich young man to do: to value his relationship with God more than his relationship with stuff. To love those around him as much as he loved himself. If he wanted himself to have all this stuff, then he should be willing to share with those around him. To love his neighbor as himself.

Jesus said that all the law, all the commandments in Scripture, all 613 of them, condense into these two: To love God and to love our neighbor.

So, we should ask ourselves: How can we do that today?

What does Living for God look like today?

What does it look like to love God today? Much like it did back in Jesus’s day. Spend time in fellowship with God through prayer and worship and reading Scriptures. Spend time in community with others who seek to do the same.

What does it look like to love others today? Again, I think it’s similar to back in Jesus’s day. To walk humbly, love mercy, and act justly. To care for those who are unable to take care of themselves.

When I first started working, I was intentional about praying for the people I worked with and I was well aware of the opportunity that GOd gave me to be a light and reflect His glory to those that I work with.

But lately, honestly, I couldn’t care less. That’s a problem. That’s something I need to fix. So, I’m going to try my best to wake up and ask myself: How can I be a light for God at work today? My answer to that question is not going to be just a general, “Oh, be pleasant to people” response. I want to be specific.

I want to challenge you to get up and ask yourself that same question every morning: How can I love God and love others today? Be specific about your answer.

After you come up with an answer, pray and ask God to help you to be a light in that way. Ask Him to help you be a light for Him, to reveal His glory, His love, His patience, His faithfulness, His endurance.

Not, only do you get the opportunity to help people, in a way that they genuinely need help, but in doing that you lead them to see Christ in you and through you. God meets the needs of those around us and leads them into a deeper, closer relationship with Him.

Jesus said it best. To love God with everything you have, everything you are, everything you will be. And love those around you like they were you.

I don’t think we do that well. Treating others the way we would want to be treated, to view them as ourselves. Yes, I’m a part of this. I don’t always treat that stranger like Micah. I don’t treat my co-workers like they were Micah. I don’t always treat my boss like he was Micah.

I wonder what it would look like if I did? If we all did? By treating them like they were us, how we would want to be treated. We talk about it all the time, but we don’t really do it. Or waiter or waitress we treat like a robot, not like ourselves.

So we can live for God today, by putting our relationship with Him above all else and learning to love Him and others. That is what God requires. That is how we live for God today, tomorrow, and every day. God’s grace and Spirit will guide us along the way.