God cares how we live — because He knows that if we follow the wrong path in life, we’ll end up hurting both ourselves and other people. But He loves us and He doesn’t want that to happen.

This is why He’s given us a “yardstick” or standard by which we should live — and that “yardstick” is the Bible. In the Bible, He tells us how to live — both what we should do, and what we should avoid doing. Think how many problems and heartaches we’d avoid if we only followed the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (you’ll find them in Exodus 20 and Matthew 5-7). The Bible says, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

At the same time, the Bible isn’t just a list of rules. In fact, it tells us that we can never win God’s favor by keeping a set of rules. God’s standard is nothing less than perfection — and no matter how good we are, we fall far short of that standard. That is why we need Christ, because only He can forgive us and bring us back to God.

Have you turned to Christ in repentance and faith, and asked Him to forgive you and come into your life? If not, make your commitment to Him today. Then ask Him to help you live “in holiness and righteousness before him all (your) days” (Luke 1:75).