Are we pleasing God?

2 Corinthians 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Pleasing God

      The phrase “accepted” can also be translated as well pleasing. So, Paul is saying that he labors (performs works) in order to please God. This should be the desire of all Christians – to be pleasing to God. This will make a difference in where we go and what we do.

Help weaker Christians

      In Rom 15:1 Paul tells us that we are to be considerate of those weaker Christians. These may be young or even immature Christians, and we ought to conduct our self in such a manner that we deny our own self in some cases in order to accommodate the weaker believers (Rom 14:1-7; 1 Cor 9:20-22; 1 Thes 5:14). Paul says it in the negative – not pleasing our own self which can take in a wide range of things.

Faith

      We must walk by faith if we would please God. This is not an abstract idea, but refers to walking in obedience to the revealed life in His word (Eph 4:5)

Walking in the Spirit

      This is more than the idea of sanctification, but not thinking or living according to the dictates of this world’s idealogy (Ro 12:1-2). Not being governed by this world’s considerations.

Suffering patiently

      Paul says explicitly that those who live a Godly life will suffer some type of persecution (2 Tim 3:12). No one likes this idea of suffering, but it is a fact of two worlds colliding – the world of God’s righteous standards against the world’s ideas of right and wrong.

Fellowship

      The word “communicate” carries a wide variety of implications for us. It means extending the hand to greet and welcome, fellowship, association, communion and even sharing material things with another. So, we may say that having a time of fellowship and joining in with it is pleasing to God. Another aspect of this is sharing and that can be sharing the truth with others (1 Thes 2:4).

      We like to have our prayers answered and this promise goes right along with pleasing God 1 Jn 2:4

Written by : Super User