The Israelites knew God. They had seen him. They were witnesses to his signs and miracles. They promised Moses that they would do whatever God wanted them to do. But when they sat on the edge of the Promised Land and Caleb told them that they would have to fight to get in, they said No, thank you! and began packing their bags to go back to Egypt. They wanted God’s gift of the Promised Land, had actually traveled for two years to get to this juncture, but they did not want to fight for it. They wanted God to simply give them the land. And that’s what we do. We want the gifts of God in our lives, but we do not want God in our lives. So, here’s a good question: Does God require that we earn his gifts?
And the answer? Yes. And No. We cannot earn the gift of eternal life. For example, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”1 The gift of Jesus is free; even though we must believe in Jesus to receive this gift, it is not a gift we can ever earn. There are other gifts God gives us freely, like mercy and forgiveness and grace. And sometimes God gives us gifts just to make us happy because he loves us so much. But sometimes God says, I want to give you this, but you must earn it. You must prove yourself first. Why is that? Because he wants us to grow up! Where is there evidence for that? All over the scriptures. But let’s just look in Philippians to save ourselves a lot of time.
Paul wrote this: IF you “rejoice in the Lord always” and IF “your reasonableness” is “known to everyone,” and IF you will “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God,” THEN “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”2
So, peace is earned. We work for it. Trust me—rejoicing and being reasonable and not being anxious takes effort! But keep reading. Paul continues: IF you think about things that are honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and worthy of praise, AND if you “practice these things,”—practice being honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and being someone worthy of praise, THEN “the peace of God will be with you.”3
God loves us and wants to give us good things, but he requires that we work at being the people he meant us to be. Which, oddly enough means that the peace of God is not given freely. Many believers do not experience God’s peace because they refuse to practice the things that bring it. Instead of working for it, they just want to have it. And usually get mad at God for not giving it to them.
So, what makes this a Halloween message? Well, tonight many children will be going around door to door expecting candy for just showing up and asking for it! And we adults know better than to do that, right? Then why do we expect God to give us good things just because we ask for them? God wants to give us many good things, but sometimes he requires us to do our part. If we desire the peace of God in our lives, then we will need to follow Paul’s instructions. And also heed the advice of the writer of Hebrews: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.”4 Perhaps it is time for us to stop acting like elementary age children and grow up!
1John 3:16 2Philippians 4:4-7 3Philippians 4:8-9 4Hebrews 6:1
