We live in a “what’s in it for me” kind of world.

We want the job that pays the most.  We want to “serve” in a way that gets us the most pats on the back. We want to mingle with the folks that will get us the envious glances when we drop their names around the water cooler.  We minister to others in the way most convenient for us.  And on and on it goes…

Sadly, we often approach God the same way.  We love Him because of what He can do for us.  We go to Him only when we are in need of something from His hand.  We have a “what’s in it for me” kind of faith.

Too many people see God as a way of escaping hell.  They see God as the golden ticket to the promised land.

But, if there was no heaven…would we love Him anyway?

If the end was just the end,

one day we’re here and then we’re gone.

If there was no crystal sea

and no sands of time to walk upon.

If the only gift He ever gave

was the blood that stained a cross,

would we serve Him to our dying day

no matter what the cost?

All too often, we base our devotion on our circumstances.  When speaking about his daughter’s cancer diagnosis, Henry Blackaby had this to say…

 I said, “Father, don’t ever let me look at circumstances and question Your love for me. Your love for me was settled on the cross. That has never changed... – Experiencing God

We have to settle it on the front end.  Anytime we are tempted to question His love for us, we need only look to the cross.  We have to fight the human urge to allow our emotions to rule over us.  No matter what storm is raging, no matter what trial we are faced with – He settled His love on the cross.

God has nothing to prove to us.

We love Him because He can give us good things, because He protects us from every potential trial, because He promises us riches beyond compare, because we have a mansion in paradise, He first loved us.  — 1 John 4:19