John 5:30 — Today’s Verse for Saturday, September 16, 2023

[Jesus said,] “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

— John 5:30

“So who you tryin’ to please, anyway?” These words from my dad still ring in my ears. His point? There are only two voices we MUST please:

1. Our Father in heaven, because all praise and honor are due him.
2. Ourselves, because we want to know that we’ve done our best and been the best we could be for God.

Over the years, however, I’ve learned that I can’t begin to honor the second voice very well without seeking the first will of the Father, the heart and character behind the first voice. Don’t you hope that someday you reach the place where you can join Jesus in saying with absolute assurance: “I seek not to please myself but him who sent me!” The closer we approach that reality, the more we realize that we can’t do anything of eternal significance on our own. Only when we live to honor God do we achieve the significance and have the impact that our lives were made to have.