Time to please....

One of the greatest parts of being married for 570 days has been learning what we can do to make the other happy. Obviously when you spend a significant amount of time with someone, you learn about their likes and dislikes, what makes them tick, and what really drives them up the wall. Here are some examples of things we’ve learned:

Jonathan likes an apple variety called Pink Lady.

Kari likes little notes left for her to find.

Jonathan dislikes his socks folded into themselves.

Kari dislikes sweeping.

Jonathan loves hand massages.

Kari loves coffee with lots of milk.

Jonathan despises being late.

Kari despises feeling rushed.

You get the idea. When you love a person, it comes naturally to do things that please them, like buying Pink Ladies and trying to be ready on time. Conversely, you avoid doing things that would irritate them and make them give you “that look.”

I read a verse tonight that really clicked with me. Ephesians 5:10. It says, “and find out what pleases the LORD.” The verses prior to that explain that we once were lost in darkness, but now we know the Light. Jesus Christ said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Because we know Christ, we are told to “live as children of the light, and find out what pleases the LORD.”

How do we go about finding out these things? You can’t really know someone without spending time with them. Think about it. If your friend tells you she met a great guy on the internet, wouldn’t your first thought be, “but how can you know him if you’ve never actually spent time with him?” He may be a great guy, but she can’t know that for sure yet. So there’s our first step – spend time with GOD. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to, “pray without ceasing.”

Pray without ceasing. Talk to GOD about the things that please HIM. Ask HIM what you can do to make HIM smile, or even laugh with you. Tell HIM how much HIS creation pleases you – that sunset over the lake in Iowa, Nicole’s smile, the stars in the St Louis sky, Mom’s eyes, intricate languages, Baby Astu’s little toes, coffee and cocoa, Jonathan hands, the sand dunes in Mauritania, Dad’s laugh…

Complete sentence...

I am pleasing to GOD.

This was a hard sentence for me to write as part of my study this morning. Actually, the hard part was the period at the end. My mind kept telling my hand to turn that dot into a comma, and than continue with, "but I need to try harder." Or maybe "I am pleasing to GOD, but I need to pray more, eat less, read my Bible more, gossip less, give more to the church..."

Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

When I read that verse, I get stuck on the sixth word. I can't ever remember the difference in justified and sanctified. So I looked up justified.

Justified:
To declare free of blame; absolve.
To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin. Used of God.

Let's try it again. "Therefore, since we have been [freed from blame and penalty] through faith, we have peace with God..." Faith refers to the decision to accept Christ's gift when He took our sins from us and paid the penalty with His life. This means that even though I sin (often and repeatedly), the penalty has already been paid by Christ. (See Romans 6:23)

"... we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

I am now free, at peace with God. He loves me as I am right now. Can I improve in some areas? Sure. But His love does not depend on those improvements. By human standards, worth is based on our contributions to society, our accomplishments, how much money we make, etc... But God declared I was valuable when He gave His Son to die for me. That currency doesn't fluxuate.

And I can rejoice in the fact that when I write, "I am pleasing to GOD," it is a complete sentence.