God Does Not Need Me - Luke 3-4

Luke 3:7-8 (ESV Strong's)
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

God Does Not Need Me

We all have a sense of grandeur. We all believe we are most important.   Perhaps the most significant day in a persons life is when they finally discover they are not significant.   We live in a world of people trying to find value.  They believe when they go to work that it is work that must show them value.  In fact, many cause disruption and conflict in the work force when they believe they are not valued.  It is as if the company or organization exists to give them value.   In the above passage John the Baptist is talking to the religious leaders who came out to hear him.   They have a large complex of self-value.   They believed they were not only important, but they believed they were the MOST important people to Israel and to God.   John the Baptist calls them a “broad of vipers.”   This like saying a group of people are a “pack of wolves.”   John is not a fan of religiosity.   He goes on to tell them that God does not need them.  He tells that God, if He wanted, could rise a  pile of stones to worship Him.   I would imagine, that while John was speaking, there was an actual pile of stones right there. You can see John point to the pile and, possibly, even pick one up.   God does not need us.  We should not promote ourselves into thinking that God could not operate without us.   God is able to take a pile of dirt and find praise for Himself.  But, remember, at one time we were a pile of dirt ... God made us out of the dust the earth and breathed into us life.   We should remember, however, we are valuable to God, in that He sent His son to die for us.  God gave us value. He did not send His Son to die for us because we have value, He sent His Son to die for us and that gave us our value.  I am valuable to God because He redeemed me from my sin.  The world is hung-up on being valued by others.  Many people worship the very words of others that give them value.   Yet, we need to realize we only value to God because He gives us value by redeeming us at great cost to Himself.