Who does God esteem?

^{Isaiah 66:2 tells us who it is that GOD esteems….}

² Has not my hand made all these things,
       and so they came into being?”
       declares the LORD.
       “This is the one I esteem:
       he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
       and trembles at my word.

Does God esteem you?

Hosea 6:6 tells us what God wants:

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,  and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Mercy and acknowledgment of God are reflections of love. It is love God wants.

Deuteronomy 6:5

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

Mark 12:29-31

²⁹“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

To love our neighbor is to esteem them and sacrifice ourselves for them. We are to put our religion into practice – love others by doing for others. 

James 1:27

²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Matthew 25:34-36

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

If we fear God, love God, live for God, it will show in our lives, not just the secret places in our hearts. If we love God, we will love our neighbors. If we love our neighbors, it will show in our lives.

The people God esteems are those who put themselves last and others first. The people God esteems are those who tremble at the word of God. The people who God esteems are those who esteem God and others above themselves.

Does God esteem you?