Living as a child of the Father

When it comes to living your life as a child of the Father, then our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the perfect example of that. His whole life was dedicated to live according the will of the Father. That’s why His life contains keys which we can use in our own lives. So if we want to know more about that sort of life, we need to take a deeper look into the life of Jesus.

First of all it is important to understand that we are all called for ministry. Everyone. To minister means nothing more then to serve. That’s something we were all called to do. What we do in ministry can defer. One is called to teach huge crowds, while someone else is called to minister to the family, to interceed or for something else. Not every ministry is big, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. God would let you start a ministry, even if it saves just one person. And maybe that is all you will do in ministry, witnessing and praying for years, to save the life of one person. That’s how valuable the life of one person is to God and it should be just as valuable to us as well.

Before Jesus did anything, He lived His life as an ordinary man, until the age of thirty. The thing that started His ministry was the public acknowledgment and acceptance of His Father. After this He started His teaching with these first words:

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

That is the very first priority He gave us. Repentance. It means that we have to turn from our own ways to Gods ways. It requires a decision from us. Many are talking about the love of God, telling everyone it’s all about His love. I can’t agree more. But love goes two ways. From God to us and from us to God. The point is that in a healthy relationship, you don’t want to hurt somebody. By committing sin, satan has the legal right to destroy your life at the area of the sin you’ve committed. When you don’t repent from it, you are no longer under His grace and on your way to hell. You can visit Church, pray everyday, even pray in tongues, but if you refuse to repent from your sin, even if it’s just one sin, then you are on your way to hell. Now let me be clear here. You can’t hurt God more then by refusing to repent. Why? God hates to sent people to hell. No matter who it is. But He is just and so is His judgment. When people refuse to repent, He has no other option then to sent them to hell, even though He doesn’t want to (Also read the study “Is God just” in the “God wants you” category). Yes His love is for everyone and yes it is overwhelming, but we have our part in that love as well. We need to repent from all of our sins, which will be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. He will convince you of your sins, but He will never accuse you. Satan is the only one who accuses the saints. God doesn’t work that way. Repentance gives God the opportunity to bless us and that is His motivation when He tells us to turn from our ways to His ways.

Thank God for Jesus and for the things He taught us through His word. Thank God He also gave us the instruction on what it means to walk on God’s ways. Those instructions can be found in Matthew 5, the sermon on the mount. Here Jesus gave very specific instructions on how to live your life as a son or daughter of the Father.

Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed (happy) are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed (happy) are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed (happy) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed (happy) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed (happy) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed (happy) are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed (happy) are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed (happy) are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

All English Bibles are translating the Greek word “makarioi” with blessed. The Dutch translations even go further by translating it with sainted. When we translate it literally, it says “blessed and happy” or “Increasing of blessings and happiness”. When we read it in that light, it shows something very important of God: His motivation towards us. Like any other good father, He wants His children to be happy and blessed. That is His aim, not to tease us. Being a child of God is all about motivation. To understand this better, let’s first look at the definition of the word “motivation”.

Ok, we now have the motivation of God, the words of Jesus about that motivation and a definition of what motivation is. But something is still missing. Actually it is a Someone. We’re talking about the Holy Spirit, the precious Spirit of God. Without Him it is impossible to communicate with God and to live a holy life. All these things Jesus told us are very beautiful, and many people want to be like Jesus said in Matthew 5, but that is impossible unless the Holy Spirit helps us. Our drive, our motivation, is the love of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is (equal to) love. The Holy Spirit is the substitute of Jesus Christ on earth. When we’re talking about love, truth and happiness, we’re not talking about a feeling (although that’s a part of it), but about a Person: Jesus. It is very important to understand that Jesus Himself told us that the Holy Spirit would be His substitute on earth and that He will live inside of us, telling us what the will of God is. Without the insights of the Holy Spirit, all you have is religion. So when we continue this study, you must realize that living a holy life, as a child of the Father, is only possible when you have a relationship with the Father, the Son AND the Holy Spirit. The motivating force, stimulus or influence in the life of a Christian is the Holy Spirit, representing Jesus Christ in our lives. It is He Who plants the seeds of God’s love into our hearts. It is that process that will arouse, sustain and regulate our behaviour. Now that we know what motivation means, let’s go further with the part where Jesus is talking about our motivation towards the Father.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

As a Christians we are not part of the secret service. We are loved and accepted by the King of kings. The Bible verses you just saw are all about our motivation towards God. Notice that it doesn’t say that people can hear our religious words. It also doesn’t say that we have to lift ourselves up for people to see us and to see how good we are. Jesus says that we already are on that hill. There is no need to lift ourselves up. We just need to be visible for the world around us. When you are in love with someone, you want to shout it from the rooftops. When you are really in love with God, when you really (get to) know Him, you want to share that and show it to the world around you. That is about motivation. The motivation of true love. Our lives need to be an example to the people around us.

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Some people find it scary to read these verses, simply because they don’t know how their righteousness can ever exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Let me explain something to you. The only difference between the scribes and Pharisees and a true follower of Jesus Christ, is the motivation. Not all people from that time understood what Jesus was saying. They saw all the good things the scribes and Pharisees did, they heard their teaching and prayers and heard nothing wrong in it. In this present day, those scribes and Pharisees would most likely be the honorary members of the Church. There was only one big difference between those people and the true followers of Jesus. The motivation. The motivation of the scribes and Pharisees was pride. The motivation of a true follower of Jesus is the love for God and to do His will. From the outside all may look the same, but from the inside it is a huge difference. Jesus didn’t look at what they did, He looked at their hearts. What He saw there was pride, the worst sin there is on earth. He saw that they were pretending to be someone they were not. They were just acting. It is in that light that we need to read those verses where Jesus says that our righteousness has to exceed theirs, because righteousness starts in our hearts, not with what we do. After this, He also gave a few examples.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Again, this is about motivation, about what lives in your heart. Do you see it? Remember the part where Jesus told us that we need to love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves. That is what our motivation should be. It is impossible to have something against a brother or sister (which is unforgiveness) and to please God at the same time. That is a sin against His love for that person. This shows how much value God places on what lives in our hearts.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Do you start to see now? Everything we do starts in our hearts, with our motivation, the thing that drives us. It is our motivation that needs to change and that can only happen when we seriously work on our relationship with God. Without that it is impossible to have to right motivation. Without that you will fail. Our motivation is of more importance then what we do. God wants to show His truth about this to you. I am not going to quote the whole chapter, but I recommend that you read Matthew 5 yourself. Ask God to open your eyes and to show you what your own motivations are. When you don’t understand it completely, then read it again. And again. And again. Until you do understand it. You will see that Jesus is telling us that our motivation should be our love for God and our neighbours. But what has all of this to do with living your life as a child of God? To answer that, we need to go to the end of Matthew 5, where Jesus tells us the following:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

There it is! That you may be sons (and daughters) of your Father in heaven! God wants us to be like Him. He wants our hearts to be like His heart. He loved the world so much, that He gave us Jesus Christ, His Own Son. He doesn’t only love those who love Him back, He loves everyone, no one excluded. So if we want to live our lives as a child of Father, that is what we should do in order to be a son of daughter of the Father. I have to admit, that is not always easy. In fact, it can be really hard to love those who hurt you or even hate you. But He didn’t gave us all these instructions without offering His help. That is why He gave us the Holy Spirit, our Helper, Who will help us to be the son or daughter God wants us to be. It isn’t impossible. On you own it is, but with His help it isn’t. That is why we need a deep and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. We need to (get to) know Him, we need to learn to hear and understand His voice and we need to learn to be totally depended on Him. He is on our side, not against us. His aim is the same as the aim of the Father and the Son. He wants to give us a hopeful future and everlasting joy and love.