Section 3: Humanity
Week 1: God Created Us for His Glory
Day 2: We Need God
Matt. 6:25-34
We like to think of ourselves as autonomous beings. You can see that even in children. How many times have you tried to do something for your child or your niece or nephew only to have them scream, “ME DOOO! ME DOOOOO!”
Our sense of autonomy is an illusion, however. Try as we might to deny it, we are dependent beings. We didn’t have the power to bring ourselves into existence, and we don’t have the power to hold ourselves in existence (Col. 1:17). Without God, we’d simply cease to be.
But our need for God goes way beyond mere existence. We need his provision throughout all of life. And that need for God is there by design. In the section on God’s love, we saw that God naturally gives of himself—it’s part of who he is at his core. That truth about God is written into the very fabric our being. We, by nature, need him to provide for us, because he, by nature, wants to provide for us.
Trying to live as though we don’t need God is an exercise in futility. But, more to the point, it’s sad. Imagine you have a good friend who lost his job. He has an interview today, but his car won’t start. You live down the street, have the day off, and would be more than happy to drive him. But out of pride, he won’t call you. How would you feel? Would you applaud his sense of self-reliance? No. You’d be sad he didn’t reach out to you.
That’s exactly how God feels when we try to live our life on our own.
Reflection Question:
Where in your life do you have trouble accepting your dependence upon God?
Challenge:
Write down one step you are going to take today to rely on God more.
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