Universal Life Church

By Scott Phillips

God Loves to See You Smile

The other day my wife was rushing around the house helping someone get ready for a wedding that attends the church in Clinton. The couple did not have a lot of money and my wife just saw an opportunity to do something nice, because that is the way she is. For the next few days she was focused and motivated on the task at hand. Through out this process of hard work, I marveled at how thrilled she was doing something for someone else. Through this I had a "TADA" moment. She was demonstrating a characteristic of God.

God loves to see you smile.

He has/does and will go to great lengths to bring joy into your life. If you think of the history of God dealing with man, it is amazing to consider everything he has done had a single overriding purpose and that being for man to find that place of Joy and Completeness.

It started with the carefully planned habitat in Eden. Then his custom made companion for Adam. He then tailored clothing to cover the shame of their sin with clothes. And from there the list goes on and on.

I have heard it communicated that God did it all because he wants praise or love or some other thing. I however don't believe that is true.

I think God gets more glory when from a thankful heart a smile transforms a face, a heart is filled with love and words of sincere communication transpire. I don't think he does it for praise, I think that God does it simply because he loves to see you smile.

It is sort of like the Chicken or Egg debate. What does God want from you? Is it just to see you "serve him" and worship him or is it that God truly loves his children and wants to see them happy and fulfilled.

The answer is found in the picture of a parent. No doubt parents love for a child to get up publicly and tell how great they are. However I truly believe what is the greatest source of joy for a parent is to see their children happy and living purposeful, meaningful lives.

Your Heavenly Father loves to see you smile.

The natural outflow of the Goodness of our Father is for us love him. When we think of the great price God has paid to reconcile us back to him and redeem us from the curse of sin, it helps to know why. The purpose is not so he has someone to sing for him, testify for him or even give money for him. The purpose is to see his children experience true joy.

I did not say God wants you to be a spoiled brat. No good parent gives their children everything they want. No good parent is going to let everything come easy. However the overriding driving passion of God is see his children prosper and lead productive and meaningful lives.

The scripture says, "If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to everyone that asketh."

Does he give the Holy Ghost to his children for "self serving" purposes or does he do it because he sincerely and deeply loves to see his children experience the joy that only the Holy Ghost can give.

I have heard so many preachers preach about praise and worship and they present it as God doing everything because he likes to be praised. I really don't think that is what God likes. I truly believe that what God likes is what produces true praise and worship.

When we recognize that every good and perfect thing in our life comes from one source, when we can see the tremendous price paid for the saving of our souls, when we get a glimpse at the vast reservoir of his love there is a natural by-product that will come flowing from us like a rain swollen river rushing, flowing toward the source of the rain.

When you smile at God, God smiles back at you. If you have anything you can smile about, it is because of the tender mercies of a savior that has spared no expense to see his child in that place of meaningful purpose. If you have a need and will sincerely and honestly seek his face, he will answer your prayer and meet your need. Why? He wants to see your life filled with purpose and meaning? Why? Because he loves to see you smile.

Smiling.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

http://www.newbirth.us

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