Without the grace of Jesus: a hopeless end. With the grace of Jesus: an endless hope. — Rick Warren

He Wants You. If you’ve gotten to the final day of this week’s devotionals and you feel that you need to do more spiritual activity to follow Jesus, then we need to set the record straight. 

What does God want from us? Is it just our religious activities, like going to church or studying the Bible? Does He want us to avoid bad things? Following Jesus isn’t just about doing good or avoiding bad; it’s about loving Him. That’s what He really wants.

He wants you. God wants all of you, wholeheartedly. He desires our love and full commitment. Then, we will want to attend church and study the Bible to know Him better. We will choose our words and actions carefully to be more like Him. We will show kindness and generosity because we want to fulfill His calling. Our spiritual activities should come from our devotion, not out of obligation.

When we accept Jesus and His salvation, we die to ourselves. This process happens every day. Each day, we wrestle with our selfish desires from morning until night. Dying to self is a daily task. The more we follow Christ, the more we should let go of our selfishness. Why? Because we have sought God and realized that His ways are better than our own.

What happens when we make mistakes? Is He angry with us? Will we be punished? Will we lose our chance at Heaven? Is there a way to start over?

Hardly. One important thing to remember is that when we surrender to Jesus and let Him work through us, we receive His grace completely. His grace never runs out because it forgives many sins. Even when we have many sins, we are still covered.

I hope this helps you feel more free. As followers of Christ, we have access to His amazing power, endless love, and limitless grace. No sin or distance can separate us from Him; He always reaches out with His power, love, and grace. That’s Someone worth living for, and that Someone is Jesus.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27