God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. Acts 17:24-25 (KJV)
God does not need anything from us. This is the liberating truth of the scripture. But something so freeing could also be highly irritating to our pride and ego. The Athenians, to whom the Apostle Paul spoke to, they could not agree. Because their elaborate and sophisticated trap to please the divine simply gets invalidated. But what does it really mean to say God is self-sufficient. He cannot be pleased by men and their rituals; as Calvin classically argued.[1] That is true. It means that salvation cannot be bought but it is received; that is another classical reading. That is true too. It also means that we submit to the providence of God; that is also true. But sometimes we do commit the innocent mistake of thinking of God’s sustenance as an add-on; that we are getting something extra. For instance, I was struggling financially and God blessed me with a job. This is not entirely true. Whatever we have is already God’s gift. The scripture says that even the ability to enjoy work and sleep is because God has allowed it to be. This is why we cannot please God with what we own. Because even that (what we own) we have received out of His grace. The liberating truth of the advent that is worth pondering is the understanding that God is not only self-sufficient, but He allows His self-sufficiency to be accessible for us.
Semper Reformanda 