A handshake is how deals used to be done.
Just a shake, and you knew you could trust the job to get done.
Then came contracts, with fine print and conditions. They became the stuff of nightmares.
To get out of one was impossible, and to fulfill all the conditions, you had to jump through every hoop written into the deal.
Have we made our Christian commitment a contract with God, with fine print and conditions that are almost impossible to live with?
If God will do this, we’ll do that. Let’s make a tradeoff, God. That’s the only way it works for us.
Or do we feel God is the heavy-handed one, putting conditions on us before he comes through with answers to our prayers?
God says, “Whoa! That’s not what I intended. Salvation is of mutual benefit. We both receive equally when we do it right.”
What’s our handshake agreement? What’s our mutual benefit? What does God get versus what we get?
We find the answer in 1 John 3:22:
“And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”
Our handshake agreement applies to both parties.
1. We keep God’s commandments and he is pleased.
2. God answers our prayers.
See, if we keep God’s commandments, he is required to answer our prayers. In the same vein, when we keep God’s commandments, he is pleased and desires to answer our prayers.
Agreement made. Both parties satisfied. A success all around.
We don’t need to read the fine print with God. When we shake hands, his promise is as good as done.
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