Sounds a bit absurd, I know. But for some time I have been wrestling with… what could I do to make God happy. Somehow doing deeds of derring do is not the answer. Depriving myself doesn’t seem a positive way to go especially when you consider some of His words like, giving us the desires of our hearts, giving us abundant life now and in the life to come. If self sacrifice or dramatic acts aren’t the answer… what is?
When in doubt, go to the source. And we have His manual to look into to find our answers – the Bible. I suspect that it could be argued that if we did what He wanted, that would make Him happy. Probably. Sometimes the answers to the BIG questions of life are so simple that we dismiss them. Scripture tells us what He wants: “…do justly, love mercy, walk humbly.” (Micah 6:8) And He tells us that He loves mercy more than sacrifice (Hosea 6:6) But I also believe it’s more than that. Or is this a situation where I’m trying to make things more difficult?
Part of the answer emerged when I attempted to look at this question from His view. What was it He enjoyed? Genesis tells us that God brought the animals to Adam to be given their names. I can only imagine the delight God experienced when He was with Adam as Adam named each of the animals. The experience must be akin to a parent’s delight at seeing their child excel. This sense of pleasure at a child’s accomplishment/success is one that every parent relishes and I think God does too. Simply put… I think He delights in our delight.
Another part of the answer came when I read further into Genesis and saw that He always walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the morning. So relationship is a key ingredient in making God happy. This key may be one of the major components since both the Father and the Son were willing to suspend their relationship in order that we could be reconciled to Him. But what does this mean for us, individually? How does this impact on our relationship with God? What can we do to make God happy?
…but, what do you think?
