Do you agree with God?

"Can two walk together unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3)

God always wanted Israel to choose life and not death, yet their ignorance to His constant calls for them to follow and abide in Him, cost them many blessings - not because God planned it that way, but because they never properly understood that, more important than obeying the law, God wanted a very close and personal relationship with His children. (Deut 30:15-20)

From this we see that God's heart has never changed, only His covenant has changed:

The Old Covenant was characterised by constant cause and effect - Israel constantly faced God's wrath due to them not choosing life, but instead turning from God and worshipping other gods.

The New Covenant is characterised by ultimate cause and effect - Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price. Not due to the sins He had "caused", but for the sins of the world.

So to come back to "Amos 3:3" (Can two walk together unless they are agreed?). Well, it's best to look at this question in two parts, firstly,

• What does it mean to "walk together"? Is it a mere association with, or is it in fact a purposeful and conscious decision to journey in the same direction as? And secondly,
• Are you actually "agreeing" with God's perspective (i.e truth)? Is your thinking influenced by the Old Covenant, which emphasised constant performance of good works in order to be regarded as righteous and holy? Or is it the New Covenant, which emphasises the imputation of God's righteousness as a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ. The New Covenant also emphasises the total absence of God's wrath, and which proclaims constant and abundant grace extended through faith in Jesus Christ - grace which not only guarantees forgiveness of sins and eternal life, but which has also provided abundant life and fulness of joy here on earth for all who believe and rest in His unearned acceptance, favor and goodness (A mouthful...I know...and there's more!)

God sees us (those who are in Christ by faith) as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself. Yet we treat ourselves like sinners who daily need to do something to gain God's approval, or needing to "patch a few things up" in our lives before we can consider ourselves worthy.

Our acts of self-righteousness do not make us worthy recipients of abundant life. It is through faith, and constant reminder of the grace, love and goodness of God that we access all He has already purchased for us on Calvary.

Amos 3:3 - It's when we begin to "agree" with this truth (of God's grace and unearned favor), that we will indeed "walk" together with Him (and thereby experience the close and intimate relationship, along with all of it's blessings and joy, that God longs to lavish on His children - freely!).