What God Really Wants

When God speaks through the prophet Micah, He cuts through centuries of religious assumptions: “With what shall I come before the Lord? … Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams?” (Mic. 6:6–7). The answer is striking in its simplicity: “He has shown you… what is good: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (v. 8). God is not impressed by grand gestures; He desires a transformed heart that expresses itself in daily life.

Jesus echoes this throughout the Gospels. When He says, “Follow me,” He is not recruiting admirers but apprentices—people who will pattern their lives after His. Those who truly follow Him learn His compassion, His humility, and His attentiveness to the overlooked. The call is to a relationship with Jesus before it is to a mission: walk with Him first, and the work flows naturally from the walk (John 15:4–5).

This is why Jesus describes the final judgment in Matthew 25 not in terms of accomplishments but in terms of simple, compassionate actions: feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and imprisoned. The righteous are surprised—“When did we see you…?”—because their kindness was not a strategy for recognition but the natural overflow of a changed heart.

By contrast, in Matthew 7:22–23, those rejected by Jesus point to impressive spiritual feats: prophesying, casting out demons, performing mighty works. Yet Jesus responds, “I never knew you.” Their deeds, however spectacular, were disconnected from a living relationship with Him.

Scripture consistently draws this line: God looks not for performance but for faithfulness; not for the extraordinary but for the obedient ordinary. The real measure of devotion is found in how we treat one another—in justice, mercy, humility, and love that mirrors Christ Himself. When our hearts are shaped by Him, our lives will reflect Him, and that is what God has always desired.

- Anonymous

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