Why Do You Choose God?

WHY ARE YOU ACTUALLY BUILDING?

The first plank was realization.

The second plank was preparation.

But before we build further, we might need to ask a question that goes even deeper.

Why are you actually doing this?

Why do you want to be prepared?

Why do you pray?

Why do you read God's Word?

Why do you want to follow Jesus?

Why do you choose God?

Is it because He is almighty?

Because you hope He will protect you when the storm comes?

Because you want to go to Paradise?

Because you want to live forever?

Because you hope for a crown, a reward, or heavenly riches?

Those are not wrong desires.

God Himself has given beautiful promises. We are allowed to look forward to them.

But now ask a more difficult question:

If you take all those gifts out of the picture for a moment...

would you still choose God?

IS IT FOR NO REASON?

It is striking that we encounter almost exactly this question in the book of Job.

Job served God.

He was blessed.

He had children, possessions, and prestige.

And then satan asks a sharp question:

“Does Job fear God for no reason?”

— Job 1:9

In other words:

Of course Job serves You.

Look at all You have given him.

Behind that lies an uncomfortable question.

Does Job love God — or does Job love what God gives him?

And perhaps we must dare to ask that question as well.

If my circumstances change...

If my health disappears...

If my possessions disappear...

If my plans fail...

If my prayers are not answered the way I had hoped...

does God still remain my God?

BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT

Centuries later, three men stand before King Nebuchadnezzar.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are given a simple choice.

Bow to the image...

or be thrown into the blazing furnace.

Their answer belongs, to me, among the most powerful confessions of faith in the Bible.

They say that their God is able to save them.

God is powerful enough to deliver them from the fire.

But then they add something:

“But if not... let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods.”

— Daniel 3:18

And if not.

Think about that for a moment.

They do not say:

We serve God because He is guaranteed to take us out of the fire.

They say:

He can save us.

But even if He does not... we choose Him.

That is not a trade agreement.

That is not a faith that says:

God, I give You my obedience and in exchange You give me safety.

No.

This is something much deeper.

This is love and faithfulness.

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WHY WOULD YOU WANT GOD?

Imagine, therefore, a strange question.

Suppose there was no crown waiting for you.

No riches.

No special position.

No reward you can imagine.

Suppose someone said to you:

“You only get God.”

Would that be enough?

And then turn the question around.

Suppose you could get everything.

Everything your heart ever desired.

Wealth.

Power.

Pleasure.

A world without limits to your own desires.

But God would not be there.

Would you truly call that Paradise?

Jesus asked a similar, devastatingly simple question:

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

— Mark 8:36

The whole world.

Everything.

And yet nothing.

Because what do you ultimately possess when you have lost yourself?

IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT GOD'S WAY

Look at what God teaches us.

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Do not steal.

Do not kill.

Do not lie.

Be faithful.

Do not covet what belongs to another.

Honor what is holy.

Protect life.

Seek truth.

Show mercy.

Forgive.

And now imagine the opposite.

Not loving your neighbor, but only yourself.

Take what you can get.

Lieg when it benefits you.

Be faithful as long as it is easy.

Covet what belongs to another and take it when no one stops you.

Let power determine who is right.

Let your own desire determine what is good and evil.

Ultimately leaving only this:

Me.

My will.

My benefit.

Is that freedom?

Is that the world we would truly want to live in?

Of course, people who do not believe in God can also act lovingly, honestly, and justly.

That is not the point.

The question is much more fundamental:

What kind of reality do we ultimately desire?

A reality in which love, truth, faithfulness, justice, mercy, and forgiveness truly have meaning?

Or a reality in which ultimately nothing stands higher than our own will?

For me, the answer is clear.

And I see in God the source and fullness of that love.

THE KING WHO KNELT

And then something extraordinary happens.

Jesus Christ — Lord and Master — kneels down.

He takes a towel.

He takes water.

And He begins to wash the feet of His disciples.

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.”

— John 13:14

The King becomes a Servant.

The Highest kneels.

And suddenly greatness looks very different.

In God's Kingdom, it is not about the question:

How high can I rise?

But:

How can I love and serve?

IF I ONLY GET TO BE WITH HIM

And therefore I want to say something personal here.

If you ask me why I choose God, my answer is ultimately simple:

Because I love Him.

I do not need a high place in His Kingdom.

I do not need a crown.

I do not need riches.

I do not need prestige.

In fact:

I would rather wash the feet of the one who washes the feet of the very least in His Kingdom.

If I am only considered worthy enough to be allowed to do that...

then I will leap for joy.

Then I will shout with gladness.

Because then it means one thing:

I mag be with the Lord, Whom I deeply love.

That is enough.

Give me the lowest place, if need be.

Let me serve.

Let me be the least.

How could I desire a throne when a place at His feet is already more than I dare to ask?

If He is there, I want to be there.

Not because of what His hand can give me.

But because of Him.

LORD, TO WHOM WOULD WE GO?

There came a moment when many people left Jesus.

His words had become difficult.

Many turned away.

Then Jesus asked the twelve:

“Do you want to go away as well?”

— John 6:67

Peter answered:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

— John 6:68

That, to me, touches the core.

Where else would I want to go?

If the world offered me everything but asked me to leave Him behind...

then the world can keep its wealth.

If the storm comes and He saves me from it:

I choose Him.

If He carries me through the fire:

I choose Him.

If He gives me abundance:

I choose Him.

If I get nothing else but the lowest place at His feet:

I choose Him.

Not because I am trying to earn something with it.

Not because I am doing God a favor.

And not because my love is perfect.

But because I love Him.

THE THIRD PLANK

Why are we building this Ark?

Ultimately not because we are afraid of the rain.

Not because we are trying to earn a ticket to Paradise.

Not because of heavenly riches.

Not because we hope to become important in God's Kingdom.

We build because we have chosen Whom we want to belong to.

And therefore the third plank is not a tool.

Not a supply.

Not knowledge.

It is a choice of the heart.

❤️ Plank 3: WHY DO YOU CHOOSE GOD?

If everything He gives disappears from view for a moment...

is He Himself still enough?

My answer is:

Yes.

Because my greatest hope is ultimately not what awaits me in God's Kingdom.

My greatest hope is that He is there.

And if I only get to serve there...

then I am home.

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