Bible Reading. Prayer. Service. Evangelism. Why do we do what we do as Christians? Probably my initial response to that question would be “Because God says so.” However, if this is our only reason for practicing these spiritual disciplines, we are missing out.
Following God’s commands out of mere obligation is a struggle. When we do something just because we ought to and without any sort of enjoyment, we have difficulty doing it more than the bare minimum and with a mindset to get the task done with. What a dishonor to God when we approach His ways in such a manner! So back to my question, why DO we do what we do?
We do these things out of love. Love is the greatest motivator. It transforms a chore into a tremendous blessing. It causes what we do to not be toil, but instead a pleasure.
Where should our love be directed at? God. Love for God and what He has done for us. He has been so kind to us, sending His Son to die for us “while we were still sinners”. We did nothing to merit this favor. We should love Him because of who He is and how He has treated us in spite of who we are.
We should love God and want to know Him better through prayer and bible reading. We should love God and want to share His greatness with others. When we are motivated by love, these practices will be a delightful part of our daily lives rather than our “Christian duty”.
Do you read your Bible in anticipation to know more about God and His ways? Do you long to spend time in His presence merely to give Him honor and praise and thanks? Do you love Him so that you cannot but speak to others of His greatness? I want to encourage you to seek to make your motivation for all that you do be founded on a deep love for God. May you seek to love Him more and more each day and to do joyfully that which you know is pleasing to Him.
Following God’s commands out of mere obligation is a struggle. When we do something just because we ought to and without any sort of enjoyment, we have difficulty doing it more than the bare minimum and with a mindset to get the task done with. What a dishonor to God when we approach His ways in such a manner! So back to my question, why DO we do what we do?
We do these things out of love. Love is the greatest motivator. It transforms a chore into a tremendous blessing. It causes what we do to not be toil, but instead a pleasure.
Where should our love be directed at? God. Love for God and what He has done for us. He has been so kind to us, sending His Son to die for us “while we were still sinners”. We did nothing to merit this favor. We should love Him because of who He is and how He has treated us in spite of who we are.
We should love God and want to know Him better through prayer and bible reading. We should love God and want to share His greatness with others. When we are motivated by love, these practices will be a delightful part of our daily lives rather than our “Christian duty”.
Do you read your Bible in anticipation to know more about God and His ways? Do you long to spend time in His presence merely to give Him honor and praise and thanks? Do you love Him so that you cannot but speak to others of His greatness? I want to encourage you to seek to make your motivation for all that you do be founded on a deep love for God. May you seek to love Him more and more each day and to do joyfully that which you know is pleasing to Him.
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