🎶 i'll tell you what He wants, what He really, really wants 🎶

romans 12:1 says this: "so here's what i want you to do, God helping you: take your everyday, ordinary life--and place it before God as an offering." it's worth noting that the writer, paul, begins this chapter in a way that suggests that he has given some instruction prior to his "so here's what i want you to do" statement. in chapter 11 of romans, paul describes God's mercy on Israel (His chosen people), a people prone to stumbling and falling and turning their backs on Him. God was relentless in His pursuit of them, so that He could show His free grace (His unmerited favour)...so that He could show that they didn't have to stumble and fall beyond recovery...so that He could show that His mercy is far reaching. paul makes clear that God's grace (getting what we don't deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve) are now available to everyone, and he notes that "God's gifts and God's call under full warranty--never canceled, never rescinded" (11:29). they can never be withdrawn, so because of this, "here's what i want you to do..." (ps: this isn't to suggest that we can take the grace of God for granted, abusing it, like it's a license to sin...because we can't...that's not what God's grace is about...we can't abuse it, but we can take advantage of it 😀).

God wants our undivided attention in our every day lives because of the high price that was paid for our salvation. He wants our conscientious gratitude for what He has done, as He works to change us from the inside out so that the world recognizes Him in us by our loving, and serving, and helping, and reaching out, and playing second fiddle, and getting along with people, and being kind, and yes, even smiling 😀 God isn't asking for perfection; He wants our hurts, and our hang-ups, and our habits so that He can develop well-formed maturity in us...and the exciting thing is that as we give our ordinary selves to God daily, God will help us. He doesn't expect us to 'do life' on our own, or to 'be religious,' but He does expect that our relationship with Him will show, even in our everyday, ordinary lives...ESPECIALLY in our everyday, ordinary lives. In fact, romans 12 is pretty direct in telling us that God will give us transformative opportunities that will ultimately help us "not let evil conquer" us, but we will be empowered to "conquer evil by doing good" (12:21). i like what james 1:27 says about what matters to God for us in this life: "pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." God wants your religion to show in how you reach out to others, and in your relationship with Him. basically, let your little light shine in the darkness. that's what God wants.

i also like how the new king james version puts romans 12:1: "i beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." we, by the mercies of God, give our lives to Him and this is our reasonable service. it is the least we can do for all He has done. "embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him." the best way to worship God is to place our lives before Him for Him to use, and to not "copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you by changing the way you think. then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (12:1). that's what God wants.

your walk with God is a journey. sometimes there will be hills and valleys and obstacles and detours...and ALWAYS there will be opportunities and people for us to serve, teach, encourage, give, lead, show kindness to, to hate what is wrong and hold tightly to what is good. that's what God wants.

i like one biblical analogy which likens our walk with God as being on a ladder, and the old hymn comes to my mind "one day at a time," except in my head i hear "one [rung] at a time." and i think that's what this is all about as we live lives of sacrifice and dedication to God...one day, one rung, at a time.

give God your rungs and your days...everyday...and watch and see what He will do through you, and with you, and for you, and sometimes even in spite of you 😀 that's what He wants.