What does God expect from me?  That is a question many people have asked including myself. To answer that question, we look to the Bible. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. God wants us to love Him with all our being. The only motivation for anything we do is from our love for Him. If you think about that for a moment, you quickly realize that you have already failed at the task. God knows that and that is the very reason He sent Jesus. Jesus loved His father perfectly. He took our sins upon Himself and paid the price for them. When we trust Him by faith, a great transaction takes place. Our sins our given to Jesus and Jesus’ righteousness is given to us. God sees us as if we loved Him perfectly all our lives.

When we recognize that our salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; we desire to love Him even more. One time on vacation, I was walking along the beach praying, asking God did I really love Him. I stopped and looked out over the ocean and saw a fishing boat. Immediately the scripture came to my mind where Jesus asked Peter do love me…then feed my sheep. I began to realize every time I use my gifts to preach and teach to feed God’s people spiritual food, I was demonstrating my love for Him. When you use your gifts to serve others, you are serving God and demonstrating your love for Him.  How much are you really showing your love for God?