“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
Acts 17:24-25 ESV
Our natural tendency is to believe that we can earn God’s blessings. Our tendency is to believe that we can repay him for his lovingkindness. Our tendency is to believe that we can make ourselves worthy of all he has given us. And our tendency is to believe that we can please him.
We seek to do so in a variety of ways. We do so through our acts of worship. We do so through our acts of devotion. We do so by our efforts to keep his Commands. And we do so by our acts of service.
The reality, however, is that we can do nothing to earn God’s blessings. There is nothing we can do to repay him for his blessings. And there is nothing we can do to please him.
Because of our sinful nature, and because of our ongoing acts of sin, this is not possible. We can never do enough to make up for our wrongdoing. And we can never be good enough to satisfy the righteous requirements of God.
This, however, is untrue for yet another reason. And this reason is seen in the passage above. It’s untrue because there is nothing we can give to God that he needs.
God, after all, is eternal and all-powerful. He is the Creator of all things. He’s the Creator of things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
We, however, are the creature. We are those who are created. And, for this reason, it’s we who are dependent upon God and not the other way around.
We need God. We are completely dependent upon him. Not only did he make us in the beginning. We are also dependent upon him every moment of every day.
Apart from God, apart from his blessings, we would not exist. Apart from God and his blessings, we would not remain. Apart from his power, we would cease to exist.
God’s existence, however, is in no way dependent upon us. It is not dependent upon what we do for him. And we can contribute nothing to his well-being.
He needs nothing. And there is nothing we can offer God that he does not already possess. Everything in all creation belongs ultimately to him.
Why, then, do we serve? Why do we give? And why do we love our neighbor?
It benefits God in no way as we do so. Nor does it contribute to our salvation or blessing. But it does make a difference in the lives of others.
As it’s been said, God does not need our good works but our neighbor does. It’s our neighbor who needs our love and our good deeds. We, then, are used by God to bless our neighbor as we act in love for him.
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