God's Expectation for You

Colossians 1:10

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

What is it that God expects from the believer? Let’s face it, we all want to please God, and in order to please Him, we must know what He expects from us. We know that living by faith pleases God. Hebrews 11:6 teaches, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So, God expects the believer to live by faith, and by doing so, we will please Him.

However, God also expects the believer to be fruitful in every good work. Being fruitful in every good work means several things. First, it means I do good works. You cannot please God if there are no good works in your life. Many focus on not doing anything bad, but God focuses on you doing good. You can’t even get close to pleasing God without having good works in your life.

Second, it means you must be rooted in Christ. Nothing will grow without being rooted. Colossians 2:7 says, Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Notice, before a believer is built up and stablished in the faith, they must be rooted in the faith and the Christian life. You must plant yourself in serving God before you will ever be rooted in Christ. In other words, stop looking for another life to live and sink your roots deeply in serving God. You cannot please God by straddling the fence between serving God and living in the world. Decide you will serve God no matter what comes, and plant your roots deeply in serving Christ, and you will be able to take the next step needed to please God.

Third, God expects the believer to grow. If a believer becomes rooted in Christ, the next natural step is to grow. You cannot be fruitful until you grow. 2 Peter 3:18 commands, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. Growing in Christ is not a suggestion from God’s Word, but a command to do if you desire to please Him. Growth is increasing in what you do for God. In other words, if you are not increasing in what you do for God, you are not growing. You cannot grow by doing the same thing year in and year out; you grow by doing more for God. If all you do is go to church on the weekends and never do anything else, you cannot grow. Growth puts pressure on you to do more for God, and the pressure forces you to pray because you have taken a step of faith. God expects you to grow because He knows you have to live by faith to grow.

Fourth, God expects the believer to be fruitful in every good work. God expects growth in a believer, but growth is not enough. If all a tree does is grow, then the tree is worthless. The tree only becomes beneficial when it has fruit. Likewise, God expects believers to be fruitful with everything they do for Him because they are helping others by being fruitful. You cannot be fruitful if your Christian life is not invested in others. The purpose of being rooted in Christ is to grow and become fruitful, which is reproducing yourself in others. Sadly, many believers are fruitful, but they are reproducing the bad they do in others. You will never please God until you become fruitful in every good work, which means you reproduce the good works in your life in others, and is what causes you to please God.