Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
– Isaiah 53:10 (NKJV)
God’s people are to live in such a way that their lives please God. God’s people are to live to please God.
It doesn’t sound like the Christianity that many of us signed up for when we walked down the aisle of our home church and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior in our lives. It does not resemble the only-believe sermons that echoed in tent revivals throughout Middle America during the times of Progressives prior to the Industrial Revolution of America. No, it does not even seem to resemble any of the tenets of religious righteousness that seem to make the headlines as the Religious Right. That doesn’t sound like the normal Christian life that many pastors, evangelists and others have spread throughout the nation and the world about prosperity, being born again, and serving to be saved. No, it doesn’t sound like any of that at all.
However, that is what the Word says. We are to live in a way that pleases God. We are to model our lives after the service, sacrifice and suffrage of Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s “Suffering Savior,” the “man of sorrows,” presents us with a humble manner of submission that we can see and reflect in our own daily lives.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. . .
Sadly, we often interpret God’s pleasure as an image of the Heavenly Father looking down and smiling upon Jesus on the cross. That sounds far from the accurate interpretation of the matter. God’s pleasure in the situation is the satisfied debt of sins. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross satisfied the debt of sin through the Lamb of God who was “without blemish” (1 Peter 1:19, NKJV). Therefore, Jesus submitted to God and offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. As John says, He serves as “the propitiation of our sins.” Read Hebrews 2:17 and 1 John 4:10 about His sacrifice for our sins.
He paid a debt that we could never repay on our own. He had to serve as the propitiation of our sins in order to satisfy the debt that we could never repay ourselves. As Paul wrote, salvation is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). He stepped up and stood in for us, only to sacrifice all and suffer for our sakes.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
– 1 John 5:2-4 (NKJV)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. – Philippians 2:5 (NKJV)
We need to reflect Christ’s sacrificial living. Paul stated that we should have the mind of Christ. Peter said that we should suffer just as Christ suffered. James, the brother of the Lord, said that we should embrace being tested and tried. We are to live in a manner that satisfies God. We are to please God.
Our daily lives are to please God. Let not Christ’s suffering and sacrifice appear to be in vain. Do not disregard the cost of salvation. God did not hold back. He offered His best. We, too, are called to offer our best. God offered His best in Jesus Christ. God expects us to offer our best by following the example of Jesus Christ.
Live to please God. Live a repentant and revived life. Live a renewed life as a new creation in Christ Jesus.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. – Psalm 147:11 (KJV)
“It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.”
-Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi quotes
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