What Does God Want from US?

We use the Christian Bible as our guide. Because as noted in my page on Atheism, if we believe there is an infinite supreme being that could create such a grand universe and everything in it, we then also believe He could guide things to provide us with scripture for our learning about Him! And He did it by guiding certain individuals, called prophets to write the various parts of the scriptures. In the same way we too, created in His image, build products and don't leave people in the dark; we provide a user manual.

Summarizing what God wants from us

A genuine relationship, where we truly get to know Him as our God who is unseen but well described in the Bible, love Him, and worship Him. And in return He forgives our sins, brings us into His Family, pours His blessings on us, and give us eternal life in Heaven. He wants us to mature in the knowledge of Him to get this relationship to a meaningful level. You can get started now with the Lord's Prayer and talk directly to "our heavenly Father".

God, in His Holy nature, has rules that He Himself cannot bend or break. Example, He cannot be in relationship with evil, which is us when we are sinful. Who among us is without sin? So knowing this, He devised a way to forgive us our sins - renewed day by day - to restore the relationship with Him. But first you have to ask for it, the proper way, by learning all about Jesus' commands and keeping them! Thus, seeking God in the Bible.

God Himself cannot break His rules, but He can forgive us when we do!

What is His biggest concern? It is the risk of losing us. For example, become lost in this world's riches, worries, social media of today, or atheism. The worst sins of the flesh? He can forgive when we turn to Him with the right attitude. But leaving Him? means we've cut the cord; He can do nothing for us at that point. We'd be doomed to eternal torment. When you reject Him, He can only move away. And when He moves away, you have nothing left but darkness, desolation, depression, and every negative thing you've ever experienced in life magnified by multiples.

-You ask: "Why would a loving God want to send us to hell and torment us just for rejecting Him?"

-Answer: He does not want to send us to hell - The state of hell and torment would be the result of His absence!!!

Note1:

No, God is not sending people to hell for His glory! as some churches teach. NO!! He is a loving God. He did everything He could to reconcile us to Him. He sent Jesus, a part of Himself, to earth to suffer miserably and die on the cross in our place, so we have an easy path to heaven!!! But no one wants it!!! No one is interested!!! People are rejecting God and sending themselves to hell! The Bible says angels in heaven cry over every lost soul!!! NO, God is not a "cosmic killjoy" as some so called "christians" portray Him to be!

Note2:

God gave us the freedom to choose, hoping that we choose Him. And choose Him His way, not the churches' way, which is unfortunately the dominant wrong way in the world today. Our 100-year lifespan on earth is a test-ground for our intentions and attitude towards Him. But people treat life here as final; most mock any talk of afterlife!! God cared so much that He did provide us a very easy path to Him. It is not what churches preach. Look here for the real biblical path: How to Be True Christians.

Rejecting God comes in many shapes and forms; it's not only atheists. When people reject His redemption plan through Christ and instead turn to dead people like Mary and saints. Or when people become so arrogantly callous, stick to the high-level lip-service belief, "by faith alone & nothing else", refusing to learn Jesus' commands and parables nor obey them! Or when they declare, "sit back relax, He already decided"! All of these are other forms of rejecting God. And the irony is, these people are throwing stones at atheists all over the internet!! I see more hope for atheists than for them.

The Bible says we are created for God’s pleasure and for relationship with Him. Created for God’s "pleasure" does not mean we are made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement. God is a creative being, it gives Him pleasure to create. And He is a personal being; it gives Him pleasure to have other beings around for a genuine relationship with. Example, these Bible verses clearly describe God desiring a relationship with us, if we're willing:

James 4:8

Come near to God and He will come near to you.

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

And this verse, which churches don't talk about, but keep asking people to donate, when all that God really wants from us is get to know Him!!

Hosea 6:6

I don’t want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don’t want your offerings - I want you to know me.

The Bible says (references below), God is an infinite being, not a creature. He is Holy, immortal, all powerful, all knowing, Righteous, Good, Loving, Just, infinite in Wisdom, He's the alpha and the omega, patient, Graceful, His ways are not our ways, He sits outside of time – infinity past / future are both visible to Him from where He is. He is not male nor female; these are human characteristics. But He is far more loving and caring than any earthly parent can be. His name is “I Am”. There is one thing impossible for Him - He cannot unite with evil. And people who reject Him effectively become evil.

The God of the Bible is complicated for us to fully understand. He would not be the awesome God that He is if we, His creation, can easily figure Him out. The Bible says He is one God but consists of 3 persons as revealed in scriptures: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can think of this as 3 personalities of the one God, that can be manifested in different forms. All three persons of God existed eternally past and will remain for eternity future. This is why God says, He is "I Am". So, Jesus did not come into existence when Mary gave birth to Him. Jesus became human for a period on earth to accomplish God's redemption plan.

He created us male and female, in His own image. This means physical appearance as well as personality. He gave us free will to choose our ways. Best example of the free will was in the Adam and Eve story. He gave them the choice to eat or not eat from the tree. And they chose to eat. He did not make them eat from it; they chose. In reality the Devil lured them into it. Which was the precedent for the human behavior throughout history. Look around you today. The devil is luring us into some type of a sin. But no worries, God provided the perfect redemption plan through Jesus to reconcile us to Him. To be in this plan we have to humble ourselves and turn to Him. And He will forgive us of all our wrongdoings. Keep looking at this website.

God's redemption plan requires a person perfect in every way to die in our place to atone for our sin. This is the main basis of the Christian religion. God saw that there was no one among humans qualified to perform this substitutionary atonement death, and that if He didn’t do anything about it, all His creation would send itself to hell. So, He found that the only way to provide salvation was through His own self. And this was where Jesus came in. This was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah thousands of years before Jesus came to earth:

Isaiah 63:5

I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.

The Bible says Jesus is God’s begotten son, the only one of the trinity manifested in the human form. Jesus is the only sinless human that walked the earth, which qualified Him to be the perfect redemption sacrifice. God sent Him to earth to be physically born of a woman. Then pay the price for all our sins, by substituting Himself to die on the cross for us. This was the only way for God’s creation to have a path to salvation, to eternal life. God Himself had to physically-suffer on the cross, and physically-die miserably. He is God; He didn’t have to do this! But He did, out of love for us, to provide us an easy path to eternal life. Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day, and many people saw Him and talked to Him. Then He ascended to heaven and is now alive in the flesh in a real place and seated at the right-hand of God. Now that you see the grand image clearly, do you see the magnificence of God’s grace and love for us? All we have to do now is believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for our sins. And we are saved to eternal life.

So how do we accomplish this relationship with God in our daily life?

Do:

1. Seek God always. How? God is in the Scriptures of the Bible. God's personality is consistent throughout the Bible. The more we read, the more He reveals Himself to us. Dedicate "spiritual" time for this. There is no hard rule. Once a week is ok, but if you can, daily is better. It is all about your personal interests. You determine how strong you want your relationship with God to be. I provide help on this here: How to Be True Christians.

2. Jesus taught us how to pray daily (the Lord's Prayer). Most important to note, the "daily Bread" we ask for in this prayer, is the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus, the spiritual Bread of life that God gives for the forgiveness of our sins. This is how we become "righteous" in the eyes of God and receive all His blessings. See The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood for more details.

3. Love all people, of all ethnic groups, religions, races, and financial status. They're all God's creation, His children, and He loves them all. Therefore, we also love them all.

Don't:

1. Don't learn Christianity by watching movies, shows, or read books about it. Learn it from the Bible. Many Bible apps offer audio now. So you can listen to it any time, like when driving, and set the audio speed to 0.75.

2. Don't become a churchgoer. Churches are businesses. Don't become a Catholic nor an Evangelical, Baptist, etc. Christian denominations are more like social clubs. See my page, Are We True Christians?

3. Don't treat your spiritual duties of praying and reading the Bible as burden. You may feel this at first. It's ok because with time you'll see God more clearly and become more and more genuinely interested in getting closer to Him and knowing more about Him.

4. Don't let the misleading internet fluff push you off-track. Remember, all people have an agenda driving them. You say, "well what about you?" I'm driven by passionate love for the true God and for people; no agenda, no hidden motives, no denomination, and no financial gains. The main difference between me and the rest out there bashing Christianity, is that I don't criticize other religions. I only point to the facts from the Bible to help you in your search for the true God.

The Bible is not inconsistent nor contradicting. Those who say this, have not expended enough time to see clearly. God is awesome; not easy to figure out. Sure there are parts in the Bible still not understood. God will reveal things at the right time. We just have to be patient and keep seeking Him in the Bible as Jesus commanded.

That's it. Start moving in this direction, and you secure yourself through Jesus Christ to eternal life in the next age. Where we will have a perfect life on the new earth (the Bible tells us of a new heaven and new earth). So many perfect things there, and new order, and new way of life not yet revealed to us by God; It is not floating ghosts with harps as Hollywood portrays. And it is forever.

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived - God has prepared these things for those who love him.

The alternative is, you separate yourself from God and convince yourself there is no God. And you secure yourself with the devil to eternal darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. You have the choice while you are alive. But once you die, there is no “oops can I change my mind?” Now is the time. And if you declare to separate yourself from God, and die in that state, you will go to hell. God cannot save you in this situation. You’ve effectively cut the cord with God.

Bible References:

Revelation 22:13

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Exodus 3:14

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

Psalm 147:5

Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.

Psalm 145:8

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Psalm 53:1-3

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Isaiah 52:9-10

9Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 55:8

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

Colossians 1:15-16

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

1 Timothy 6:16