I! Is 43:1

"But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!' " (Isaiah 43:1)

Isaiah chapter 43 causes me to take stock of my relationship with God, especially in terms of what I bring to the relationship verses what God brings. Here is a partial list of what God contributes to the relationship as enumerated in chapter 43:

• I formed you, I redeemed you, I called you by name (vs 1)
• In hard times, I will be with you (vs 2)
• I am the Lord your God, your savior (vs 3)
• I love and honor you, since you are precious in My site (vs 4)
• In fearful times, I am with you (vs 5)
• I have made you, formed you, and created you for My glory (vs 7)
• I have chosen you (vs 10)
• I have declared, saved, and proclaimed. There is none besides Me (v 12)
• None can deliver you out of My hand, I act and no one can stop Me (vs 13)
• I will make for you a roadway in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (vs 19)
• I will give you water in your wilderness and streams in your desert (vs 20)
• I have formed you for Myself (vs 21)
• I have wiped out your transgressions for My own sake and I will not remember your sins any more (vs 25)
  

When you stop and think about it, there is really very little we add to this relationship. God initiated the relationship, He paid for the relationship, and He sustains the relationship. The Apostle John reminds us, "We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) So what do we have to offer? What is it that God desires from us?

"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him , and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 10:12)

What can we offer back to God for His relationship with us? Simply to love Him.

David Robison