What does God desire from a new believer?
When God created man, he was still innocent and learning about everything before him. God desired to nurture man from innocence into His excellence.
Adam had the Creator before him to learn and grow. Like we have the Holy Spirit to obey and walk the talk. The Spirit of God nourishes our hearts to receive the word for it to take deep root and bear fruit.
Essentially, there are three things we can understand God desires in a believer.
What three things can we learn from Adam's relationship with God? What does God desire from Adam?
- Cultivate an obedient heart (Understand your identity)
- Learn how to think like God (Have the mind of Christ)
- Learn to make decisions (Exercise faith in Christ)
God gave Adam only one commandment to preserve his life. Jesus gave us one too to love one another as He loves us. An obedient heart is a loving heart. God is love, and our identity is better understood when we love Him, who first loved us. Love produces obedience that bears fruit.
God met Adam daily in the cool of the day. These meetings helped Adam think correctly, feeding his soul to grow in the righteousness of God. We need to meditate on God's word daily to renew our minds from conforming to this world.
Adam was free to make his decisions. There was no pressure to fulfil deadlines of any sort. We are free in Christ, in His rest and peace. (Genesis 2:19)
When we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour, our joy is inexplicable. We are innocent like a child, but we cannot afford to stay that way. There is a need to grow in understanding. God gave us His Word to meditate on and the lifestyle of Jesus to learn. He gave us the indwelling work of the Spirit through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
There's no excuse for the believer. God has done it all through Jesus' death and resurrection. Give your heart to Jesus daily. Maranatha, Praise God, and Amen.