Good morning:
Ever been accused of being unmotivated? Our society admires those who are driven to succeed. The executive who works grueling 80 hour weeks and reaches the pinnacle of corporate power and privilege is held up as a model for every aspiring business graduate. An athlete trains for hours every day with iron determination and is rewarded with countless medals.
Would you do it? First, you would want to look at the cost. Single-minded, total dedication to one’s work or sport or anything else on earth, means putting everything else, including God and His Word, in second place. That’s extremely dangerous, because putting anything else before God is idolatry and a denial of our faith in the one true God. So rather than making earthly goals the priority, believers at times will forego promotions and other advantages in order to give the Lord first place. The assumption of the world then is that Christians just aren’t interested in succeeding.
Of course, it’s not that Christians are unmotivated; we just have a different motivation. The Apostle Paul was without question a driven man, but not with the goal of gaining recognition for himself. He wrote: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Cor. 14-15).
No one in history has been more driven than Jesus. He was determined to do whatever it would take and to pay any cost in order to make peace between a guilty world and the holy God. The Lord’s love is what moved Paul to throw himself wholeheartedly into his work and to push himself to the limits of his physical endurance. He did so gladly in thankfulness to the Lord who had saved him from sin and hell. He was determined to make the most of his time of grace in proclaiming that message everywhere.
May the love of God in Jesus be our motivation in all we do today. Dive into the day’s work with the joy of being a child of God who has all the privileges that go along with it. Grab hold with both hands the challenges of caring for the family and being a good manager of all the earthly possessions God has given you. Don’t let distractions get in the way of your determination to read the Word and have a heart-to-heart visit with God in prayer. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23). There’s no greater motivation!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor
Service time tomorrow is 9 a.m.
The School Support Group will meet after the service.
