“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:25-26 NIV)
"Responding to God" is a concept that many, if not most, find difficult to grasp. Human nature and institutions have presented almost insurmountable obstacles to this process. The free will that God has given mankind permits a focus on immediate and physical needs, often at the expense of long-term and spiritual needs. Many do not even consider the possibility of an ultimate or eternal need.
Every single human being causes harm or disappointment to others at various times. The injury is often in the failure to take an appropriate action. Mankind has always been plagued with thoughtless and destructive behaviors. Governments, social organizations, and religions have evolved focusing on these behaviors and attempting to ameliorate them. Rules, laws, moral codes, and commandments have proliferated with elaborate systems of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and punishments. Who could satisfy every demand? The criminal and immoral usually don't care. Those who try to do good still face the guilt associated with failing to meet every expectation. The good and the bad, to various degrees, are all subject to guilt and the anxieties associated with it. Mankind was given free will and a deep-seated need for God, but not perfection. We, in fact, seem to be prisoners of our imperfection.
Christians believe that God provided the solution to this condition over 2,000 years ago. To demonstrate His love for humanity, He sent His Son, in essence Himself, into the world. Jesus came to destroy the barriers separating men and women from God. He brought a simple message of forgiveness and reconciliation. Through Jesus, every human being was given a clear and direct way to God. He prayed, "Righteous Father, I have made You known to them… in order that the love You have for Me may be in them." The appropriate "response" to God is simply to accept this gift.
-- Larkin Spivey in “God in the Trenches”
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