Good afternoon!
It has been a while since I've submitted some commentary. Nevertheless there's never gonna be a day where God don't give us something.
While I was laying on my back watching marathon reruns of 'Storage Wars', during commercials I started praying/having a conversation with God, thanking Him for everything that I could think of. Then I thanked Jesus for Him being Who He is and what He has done. I began imaging what Jesus endured on that day of His crucifixion, and I started thinking about everything Jesus went through, being beaten, whipped, spat on, disrespected, humiliated and eventually crucified. Nailed to a cross, stabbed in His side, literally tortured and for what? Jesus was already good! He, the Son, was already in Heavenly places with the Father. He didn't have to leave the comfort of His Heavenly home to enter into a sinful world and endured all of that torture to no benefit for Himself, but He did.
We live in a world that has a 'what's in it for me' type of attitude. There was nothing "in it" for Jesus for Him to lay down His life for the world. The same world that murdered Him, Jesus gave His life for! Then on top of that Jesus asked the Father to forgive His killers! "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing." Amazing!
Now look at the world we're living in. Imagine if all of us were to model the example of Jesus. To do for one another without thinking, 'well what's in it for me'? Imagine what the world could look like if we were forgiving of one another without the benefit of ourselves.
That's exactly what Jesus did. God is the maker of everything! So as the maker of everything, God has no need for a benefit. God is the benefit! To know Him is the benefit! He sent us The Way to salvation, He sent Jesus to us for our benefit, not His. God don't need us, however, it's obvious that He wants us.
So today let us acknowledge His sovereignty, and not for the benefits, instead simply because He is sovereign.
Recognizing this fact definitely gives God pleasure.
Blessings
Michael Rhem #723868