Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD . . . Exodus 15:1
My kids are grown now, but when they were little, they had no money and possessed nothing that my wife and I didn’t give them. On birthdays and at Christmas, any gift they gave was purchased by us. It would be a major mistake though, to think that they had nothing to offer. When they crawled up on my lap, wrapped their arms around my neck, and said, “I love you Daddy”, that was worth far more than anything money could buy. As parents, my wife and I loved our children and, because we loved them, we desired that they love us in return. When they did so, they gave us something priceless, simply by returning that which we’d first given to them.
This is an apt analogy for my appropriate response to God. God has loved me, saving me from myself. So, every day I must wake up and I thank him for my new life. Every day, I pray that I would respond appropriately to his love by loving him in return. I strive to show that love by being obedient to his will. God doesn’t need anything from me, and I can’t give him anything he doesn’t already have. He’s God. As my heavenly father though, he loves me and desires that I love him back. In returning his love, I can give him the one thing he desires from me.
What do you get a God who has everything? That’s the lesson of today’s passage. In the story, God saved his people from the Egyptian army at the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. In response, the Israelites acted appropriately, giving what they had, singing praises to their heavenly father. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him (Exodus 15:2). God loved and saved his people, and so, they loved and followed him in return. In doing so, the Israelites gave to God the one thing he desired from them. Even though they were simply returning the love shown to them, it pleased the father that they did so.
As we desire that our kids love us, so too God desires that we love him. What does that look like? If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15). God has loved us, saving us from ourselves. If we’re grateful for that, then we must daily seek to respond appropriately, returning that love to him by following his will. That is what we can give to a God who has everything.