Mark 7:6-8 And [Jesus] said to [the Pharisees], “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
How would you describe your relationship with God? Do you have a relationship with God? Is your heart close to Him, or far away?
Good relationships don’t just happen. They take time and effort. They are built gradually upon mutual respect, trust, and sacrifice. Often, in order to grow a relationship, we must put the other’s wants and needs ahead of our own.
This is what God wants for each of us. He wants us to be in a relationship with Him. He wants us to rely upon Him, to lay aside what we think or feel to be best, and trust Him completely. God wants to be the highest priority in our lives.
Only when we sacrifice ourselves to the will and way of the One who sacrificed Himself for us, can we know the joy and contentment of living in communion with the Living God.