Remember! When I refer to person in the Godhead in any blog, I am referring either to singular person (one-of-three) or to the collective person (three-in-one) of the Triune.
So, my section on Will is winding down.
Over several blogs, I have examined how truth is a facet of God’s Will (James 1:18):
“Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
And I have examined how God is the Great Gift Giver (James 1:17):
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
And I have overviewed a few of God’s conditions for right appreciation of gift-giving. Now let me elaborate a bit more on those points.
Principally, what God wants from us (me and you) for His generous gift-giving is right response.
That means, He wants us to make symbolic thank offerings. There’s that word symbolic, again.
So much of the Judeo-Christian ethic is tied to legitimate symbols, symbolism and symbolic behavior. Symbolic gift-giving is a great example. Charitable donations, or acts of love and service to Him (such as helping to build homes for the homeless, or giving food to a food bank because God has given you food for your table) are great symbolic traditions undertaken by the people of God in remembrance of His benefits and goodness.
Further, right response means He wants us to worship Him, let our hearts overflow with admiration for Him because He is greater and more worthy in every regard than all others (worship: showing the great or excessive love, admiration, and respect felt for somebody or something, for a deity, in an act of worship [Encarta] such as prayer, singing, dancing, celebrating in public worship, (Ephesians 5:18-19).
“And do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
Spiritual songs are what I call these blogs. The title seems to fit.
Worship means He wants me and you to routinely think about Him and remember Him, keeping Him at the forefront of the mind, speaking well of Him, wanting to be like Him, recommending Him to others, doing what He wants done, even when without understanding why. He wants some enthusiasm for the idea, too, guys!
It also means that He wants me and you to see and acknowledge that we are subordinate to Him.
He wants for us to defer to Him regularly, readily cooperating with Him and always, but always showing tender affection for Him.
Right response is a thorough-going process, gentle tour companion. There is never an end to our need to be thinking about and remembering God. God wants us constantly awash in the understanding of His Truth in the Word, Who He is and what He wants to happen (His Will).
We must know that profitable appreciation and right response require acceptance of God’s virtues as a superior person. Right appreciation and response involve recognition and enjoyment of, and the embrace of, the person of the Father and the benefits of His deserving virtues. Remember, it’s Merry Christmas time, gentle tour participant. And like Santa says, it matters if we are naughty or nice.
And just as God says, it matters if we are appreciative and respond rightly, or not. Right behavior matters and wrong behavior—thumbing one’s nose at God’s goodness— is never a good idea, much less a good practice (as I’m sure you agree, gentle reader).
To be continued . . . Remember to look for a Christmas Eve Blog!
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