...just remember Me

What does God want from us? How much does He expect us to do? What does it take to appease Him, to fulfill all His requirements? What are we supposed to do for Him?

In this world, we are used to our worth being tied to our actions. Merit determines reward, as it so often should. I struggle with that myself--if I can't "earn my keep," so to speak, I feel like I'm not good enough.

Enough. That's what it comes down to for me. In so many areas of my life, I feel like I'm not doing enough. When I look at my house and see the laundry left unfolded and the dishes still in the sink and the clutter covering tables...When I watch goats die and can't do enough to save them...When I see a kid who seems to be slipping through the cracks at school, and I wonder if I've done enough to help them...When I look back at my time in graduate school and wonder if I tried hard enough to make it work...

Did I do enough? Am I doing enough now? What am I supposed to be doing for God? How much is enough to make God happy with what I'm doing?

Because, you see, for a people-pleaser like me, that's a big deal. I want to do enough. I want to be enough.

If you look at the major religions of people around the world, this is a huge theme. Hindus believe their current station in life is determined by their actions in a previous life, and their goal is to live a life that is good enough to get them out of the cycle of reincarnation.

Buddhists strive to reach Nirvana, which is an end to all desires--which only happens when you are finally good enough to reach enlightenment.

For Muslims, life is spent trying to follow the Pillars of Islam. When you die, your soul is judged. If you've done enough good, you enter Paradise.

The Ancient Egyptians believed their heart would be weighed when they died. If they had done enough good, their heart would be light--and they would be rewarded.

So what does God, the Eternal & Most High, require of us?

"With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justly,

to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God?"

Micah 6:6-8

Or for a little more clarification:

"For God expressed His love for the world in this way:

He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him

will not face everlasting destruction,

but will have everlasting life.

Here's the point.

God didn't send His Son into the world to judge it;

instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction."

John 3:16 & 17

God's requirements of us? Love the One He sent. Believe in the life-giving power of His sacrifice. Believe...and be saved.

We don't have a list of "dos and don'ts". We don't have to hope that, in our human weakness, we've been good enough to earn our way into His presence. Instead, the sacrifice was already made on our behalf, the price already paid.

And what of the One who was sacrificed? What about Jesus, the One who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."? What does He require of us?

"Don’t get lost in despair; believe in God, and keep on believing in Me."

John 14:1

"“Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39

And when it comes to His sacrifice, His body broken on the cross and His blood spilled for us?

"Do this to remember Me."

Luke 22:19

He simply asks us to remember.