Title John 17:1-5 Why, How?
Contents John 17:1-5
God is pleased with our good motives. In the Bible, we see many instances of blessing and fulfillment of good motives. In the Bible, we meet the God who was pleased with David who wanted to build the temple even though he was not qualified and who built him, and the God who blessed Solomon who wanted to rule his people with wisdom. God was pleased with their good motives.
In our work and life, God blesses us and actively helps us, and there are times when God is not pleased with us, but we just tolerate it.
In Acts 14:16 it says, “He permitted all nations to walk in their own ways.” You can see that not all punishment is acceptable to God. It's just that you're acquiescing. That is the case with many people. There are many people who tolerate but do not receive blessings and end up struggling with their own efforts, or live a life that God does not prevent but does not help. All of these cases are the result of their motives, or whys, in their lives and work.
So, what is important is the motive of what to do (why) rather than what to do (how). Our work is not classified according to the type of work, but according to the motive of the work. The Lord evaluates the Pharisees in the text, saying, “They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.” Most of their work was religious. These were people who were fluent in the law, taught the law, boasted and prided themselves on living according to God's law, and prayed day and night.
But the Lord devalued them as people who loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. Knowing the Bible and living for God are different. There is a difference between praying a lot and living for God. The Pharisees knew God well, prayed well, were godly, and lived according to God's law, but because they had the ultimate motive in their lives, all their work was worldly, not God's, but their own.
Whatever we do, whatever our life, we must always presuppose the question of ‘why’. When that happens, God takes responsibility for the ‘how’. When we focus on how without asking why, we fall for shortcuts, follow tricks, and get lost.
In order for our work to be God's work and our desires to be satisfied with good things, our primary concern is to have a clear purpose before finding a way. God satisfies good purposes, holy desires. As long as the purpose is clear, there are many ways. As long as the direction is set right, the road is everywhere. Generosity is determined by purpose, not by kind or place of work. I hope that God, who satisfies wishes for the purpose of a holy life, will actively help and bless you.