Pleasing to God (Colossians 3:20)

The scriptures inform us that the action of children obeying their parents is well pleasing to the Lord.

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:20)

It does not say that children who obey their parents are well pleasing to the Lord, but that obeying parents is pleasing to him.  As a child of God which positionally puts you in Christ, God is always pleased with you.  However, there may be things that you do that may be displeasing to the him.

This can be difficult for some to understand.  They are locked into the thought that if a person does something that is displeasing to the Lord, then the Lord must also be displeased with them.

What we must understand is that God does not exist in linear time.  This means that God is not stuck in time like you and me only moving forward from one day to the next.   Time does not affect him: he can see from the beginning to the end and from the end to the beginning.

My children, as all children, have done things that are pleasing to me and also displeasing.  Some of these actions were faults and others we sins.  However when I look at them and assess whether or not I am pleased with them, I am able to see and recall much of their past and even with their faults and sins, I can still truly be pleased with them.

God looks at us from eternity future.  The complete workings of salvation have been accomplished and from that standpoint as he looks at you in today's time, you are pleasing to him.  You are pleasing to God because of Christ and whenever he sees you, he sees you in Christ.  The actions you do may be displeasing, but you are still pleasing to him.  If you remain in disobedience and continue to act in ways that displease the Lord, he may chasten you.  He will do this because he takes pleasure in you, and he cannot allow you to ruin your life.

Remember, your relationship with God is completely based on the works of Christ.  There is nothing that you can do that will make you any more or less acceptable to him.

Importunity (Luke 11:8)

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where praying for deliverance does not bring results.  We continually seek God's face and prayer for deliverance.  How long this prayer continues varies between trials.  When the prayer is finally answered, we believe that God did so because of our relationship with him.  In other words, he answered our prayers because we are his children.

Albeit, we may be his children and because of that he is moved to answer our prayers, but what we must recognize is that answered prayer hinges more on God maintaining his reputation with man than on man's reputation with God.

I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11:8)

It was the importunity or embarrassment that would be faced that caused the friend to give loaves of bread in the middle of the night.  It was not his friendship that moved him but the maintaining of his name that did.  Likewise, God maintaining his name among men is of greatest importance to him.  

So the next time you feel that because you are not the child of God that you expect yourself to be, remember that God also answers prayer to maintain his good name.

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