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"The Heart of God"At first I laughed. Someone described a leadership conference where the opening speaker declared that “God’s number one priority on earth is the family.” Later in the day another speaker announced that “God’s number one priority on earth is the poor.”On day three another speaker insisted it was world evangelism.So what is most important to God? Do we really know what makes Him glad or sad or angry? How can we know if God is pleased or displeased? The only way we’ll ever know is to the study the Scriptures, and when we do, here’s what we find…John the Apostle declares that God is love. Love requires an object, and that object, clearly, is people. He is like a mother hen caring for her chicks. He broods on a hillside over the lostness of his people. And ultimately he died to rescue people from everlasting destruction. Obviously, one of God’s great priorities is people.Another is obedience. From Genesis to Revelation is drumbeat is “obey my commandments; obedience is better than sacrifice; follow me.” In fact, Jesus went so far as to say, “if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23).Then there is also this matter of the oppressed. The Old and the New Testaments are saturated with reminders to care for the poor, be fair to employees, make provision for the strangers and orphans and widows.Ultimately, however, it seems that what God wants most from us is faith; a child-like trust that he is who he said he is and that his promises will come to pass; trust that someday it will all make sense; believing that he is both great and good. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Study the Scriptures asking the question, “What is most important to God?” What you discover may change your life.