God For Hire

"For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:  TO THE INKNOWN GOD.  Therefore, the one whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: "God made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He worshipped with mens hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.  And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and this has determined their preappointed times and the boundries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us.
Acts 17: 23-27 NKJV

I wonder just what it would be like if God wasn't as He was.  What if our Lord, instead of having His everlasting love and grace, actually put a price on His provision for us?  What if God actually kept a ledger documenting each and every thing that He provided for us?  I'm not just talking about the simple things like our very life and every breath we take, but also for something even greater.  Imagine if this ledger of Gods even included that which His very love and mercy has provided for us.  What would that price for your salvation be?  What would that price of having His only Son within us come to?  Who would be able to afford such extravagence?  Would God become just something the rich would be able to afford?  What would happen to the needy and good hearted among us?  Would God, because He was now only concerned about what we could repay for His blessings, simply ignore those who needed Him the most?   And how would we then pray?  Would God include this on His ledger?  What cost would be incured by coming to God in prayer?  What would be the cost of having God on our side?  What kind of world would we have if so many of Gods children KNEW they could never afford His love and grace?  Would not God cease to be a God of love and mercy and simply become the God of the highest bidder?  And what of the men of scripture?  Would Moses, Noah, Abraham and young David have been able to afford the blessings and opportunities that God provided to them?  Can you just imagine God coming to Noah before the flood and asking, "Hey, Noah, I'm going to destroy the earth with a flood!  How much will you give Me to save yourself, your family and all those animals?"  Would ol' Noah be able to afford the cost of this God for hire?

"However, the most high does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, And the earth is my  footstool.  What house will you build for me?  Says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?  Has my hand not made all these things?"
Acts 7: 48-50 NKJV

I think of this possibility of a God for hire and I think of waking up in a cold sweat each day!  I'm not a wealthy man, for everything I have has been given to me by a loving God.  What would I have or be without You, Lord?  I'm sure that each and every christian out there would be able to tell me that it is but by the mercy of God that they have certain things or have endured such circumstances that they could not have without Him.  Where would our bank accounts be if we were financially responsible for the blessings that God has given us?  Fortunately for us, this is only a hypothetical question.  However, there are some in christianity today who see it as much more than that.  Oh sure, they'll put a christian mask on it, but it's still based on a flawed idea nonetheless.  I'm speaking of the christian idea of serving God.  The reason I see this as a flawed idea is because we HAVE MADE it a flawed idea.  Like so many other christian traditions, man has created a false idea.  What does it mean to serve God?  Well, we can refer to God for that answer.    

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and desppise the other.  You cannot serve God and mannon {material possesions}.
Matthew 6: 20-24 NKJV

I believe that the very mistake that we as christians make in our idea of serving God is that we will ever be able to compensate Him for all He has done for us.  There is NO price that can be put on all that His love for His children has provided!  For once we entertain the idea that we need to compensate our Lord for His blessings, God ceases from being a God of love and mercy and simply becomes a God for hire.  So, why do we continue to tie the attitude of serving God into a mindset of our repaying God for His provision?  The scriptures are pretty clear, it is our Lords LOVE, MERCY AND COMPASSION for His children that is the reason for His provision.  I've seen nothing in scripture where God has asked for a financial repayment for any blessing He has provided to us.  So, this idea of serving God?  Well, I believe that the true idea of serving God is simply keeping our focus on Him.  We serve Him by recognizing all He has done and seeing Him as the very reason we live.  Our worship and reverence are our service to Him.

~Scott~