What is God Interested In?

...Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. "Come now, let us reason together says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."  Isaiah 1:15d-18

There are a multitude of motivations within the human heart that seeks to approach God according to its own terms. God, in speaking through Isaiah, is speaking to a group of people not unlike us today. On the outside they looked good, were doing well, and had it together. They approached their relationship with God based on their outward appearance, and outward religious practices. The problem was, that God was never interested in their outward appearance, physical affluence, or religious practice. What God was interested in was their inward obedience and devotion to Him. You see, in the midst of all their outward doings, God saw something else. He saw hands that were dripping with blood. So what is it that God is truly interested in? God is interested in a heart that repents of it's attempt to approach God on its own terms.  God is interested in a heart that approaches Him according to His terms. God says to you and me, "Come now, let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." In other words, we come, with bloody hands stained with sin, with no ability in and of ourselves to wash it from our lives. But God, in his goodness and mercy, simply asks us to come with a repentant heart, and allow the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from the sin that so easily besets us. This is all that God is interested in. That we return to Him, and His word, which are the words of eternal life. He desires us to lay down our religious pretenses, and hold onto Him. Paul says that our sufficiency is found in Christ, and Christ alone. No amount of religious practice, or outward works can ever be sufficient. This is good news! Christ is your sufficiency! Turn to Him, rejoice in Him, listen to Him, walk in Him, and allow Him to change your motivation to do good things for Him from the inside out!

Blessings.