In whose interest?

Life will remain primarily a mystery and a frustration
until you understand the heart and goals
of the God who is ultimately in control
of everything that touches your life.
God loves you because he loves you.
He loves you, not for what you can do for him,
but for what he can do for you.
You are of infinite worth
to the One who gave his all
that you might spend eternity with him. (author unknown)

Anything God asks you to do is because it is in your very best interest. God’s blueprint for your life focuses on your endless happiness and fulfillment.

2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness? And what partnership does light have with darkness? 15 And what agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

This is not to be confused with short-term ease and bliss that ultimately wears thin and crumbles.

Like little children who think happiness means having no rules and an endless supply of candy, we still have a lot of growing up to do before we understand what is truly in our best interest. Much of what we presently clamor for we will eventually discover is not what we really want after all. In contrast, the infinite knowledge and intelligence of God focuses on things we will be eternally thrilled about.

That often puts our priorities at odds with God’s priorities, even though both desire our happiness.

Some people who haven’t thought it through imagine God is egocentric because he asks us to praise and worship him.

What we hold highest in life sets the ceiling for personal growth, achievement and honor. And being preoccupied with oneself makes one’s personality shrivel. That’s why our loving Lord wants you to be God-centered.

The Lord’s only wish is that we act as wisely and unselfishly as him. Like the Perfect Leader that he is, he asks nothing of us that he would not do himself. It is the very nature of love – and hence the nature of God – to focus on the beloved. Just as he wants you to be God-centered, his plans focus on you as if you were the center of the universe.

Your love means infinitely more to God than all the diamonds in myriads of galaxies. And praise is a natural expression of love. Lovers find praises effortlessly flowing from their lips as they praise their beloved’s looks, abilities, and so on.

If God wanted slaves he could in an instant create too many to cram on to every planet in the universe. The All-powerful, Self-Sufficient Lord of the Universe craves your praise only because he is love and is rapt in you.

2Co 6:17 Therefore come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean thing. And I will receive you 18 and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
Although we will have many thrilling things to do in heaven, we’ll be rather like former sporting champions who have retired and gone into sport administration. Life will be easier. There will be no more injuries, no more tedious, grueling training sessions, no more agonizing over mistakes made on the field, but the opportunity to gain more glory and become a greater hero will have forever passed.

So life is exciting. And the greatest thrills it offers are the pain and dangers and challenges. Forget about a soft life. Leave that to your heavenly retirement.

Now’s your time for glory. You’re a champion in the making; someone increasingly bearing the likeness of God himself; someone the Almighty will forever smile upon with Fatherly pride.