Why do I come to God?

Before this class says anything about God, it asks something about you. Not to catch you out. Just to see where you are, because you can’t walk a road from a place you won’t admit you’re standing.

So read these slowly, and answer them to yourself before you read on.

• Do I come to God for what I need from Him, or because I know I need Him?
• Do I mostly seek God when I need Him to fix something?
• What would happen to my relationship with God if He didn’t give me what I’m asking for?

The hard question

Here is the one this whole class turns on. Take your time with it.

If God could give me everything I want, but I could never know Him, would I be satisfied?

Be honest. For a lot of sincere believers the first, quiet answer is: yes, probably. Health, enough money, the family safe, heaven at the end. If all of that came without God Himself, many of us wouldn’t notice what was missing.

That isn’t a reason for shame. It’s information. It tells you that what you’ve been holding onto is mostly what God gives, and that you haven’t yet met the Giver well enough to want Him for Himself. That’s exactly what this class is for.

Where people start

People come to God for different reasons, and most of us have more than one. Which of these sounds most like you?

• Out of fear of punishment, or of hell.
• Because I need God to help me with something.
• Because I want His blessing or His protection.
• Because I want to know Him.
• Because I’ve realised I need God.
• Because I love God and want to please Him.
• Something else.

None of these is a trick answer. God takes people who come from fear and people who come from need. Jesus healed people who only wanted to be healed. The question isn’t where you started. It’s whether you’re still walking.

With a group

If you’re working through this with others, try this. Give everyone a sheet with two columns. On the left: “I come to God because I need…” On the right: “I want to learn to come to God because He is…” Take a few quiet minutes to fill in whatever is true. Then anyone who wants to may share. Nobody is called on. Keep your sheet; you’ll come back to it at the end of the class.

Recite this

Do I need something from God, or do I need God?

Try it this week

Write your honest answer to the hard question. One or two sentences, not the answer you think you should give. Then tell one person who follows Jesus that you’re working through this class.

I will write my answer on ________________, and I will tell ________________ what I’m working on.