Why do you do what you do?

Ultimately, we all have one underlying motivation behind everything we do. You might ask a thousand people that question and receive a thousand different answers, but all those answers would end up falling into one of two categories: love for God, or love for self.

Moses taught that the highest calling of every human is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deut. 6:5).” Jesus affirmed this in Matthew 22:37 (see also Mark 12:30). Notice that you are commanded to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. In other words, it is not appropriate (nor is it possible) to love God with a percentage of your life, but love other things with the remaining percentage. Your love for God should be the sum total of why you do what you do. If you “love” God with only a percentage of your heart, soul, mind and strength, then upon close evaluation it is likely you will find that your “love” for God is only a means to loving yourself.

Why do you love God? If someone were to answer that question, “Because of all He has given me,” what does this answer reveal? What if God took away all the things He had given them—would they stop loving God? If they would, then this reveals that they only “loved” God because they loved themselves.

But aren’t we supposed to love other people and not just God? How are we supposed to love God with 100% of our being and still have love left over for others? I think the answer to that question is found again in the area of motivation. For instance, what is the primary motivation behind your love for your spouse? There may be many reasons for why you love your spouse, but the primary reason ought to be because you love God. God created them, brought them to you, married them to you, and then commanded you to love one another as you love yourself (Matt. 22:38, Eph. 5:25-28). Yes, we are to love them, because that’s a part of our loving God. Sometimes I don’t “feel” like loving my wife, yet I choose to love her anyways. Why? Because I love God, and I understand that He expects me to love my wife even when I don’t feel like loving my wife. On some days I don’t feel like working hard, but I do anyhow. Why? Because I love God, and I understand that He expects me to give my best at whatever my hand finds to do even when my love for myself objects to working hard (Eccl. 10:9; Col. 3:23). The only way you can love someone or something else more than you love yourself is by loving God first and fully. He is love. He is the Author of love. He is the source of love. And He is to be the ultimate object of love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” -- 1 John 4:7-8

Finish In First

I love to win. I like to compete, and I can enjoy the game even if I lose, but I love to win. Even in those rare instances when I lose on purpose so that someone else can win, I struggle with wanting to announce that I could have won if I had wanted to!

The Apostle Paul was partial to winning too, but he wrote about a far greater game.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 ; 2 Timothy 4:7-8)

My greatest athletic accomplishment thus far would have to be the two city league championships that our church softball team won back-to-back a few years ago. I not only coached the team but was an important participant on the field of play as well. The towering trophies sat in my office at the church for the next several months. Now they’re probably buried behind some old Vacation Bible School costumes in some forgotten closet of the church. Playing sports and winning trophies is great, but it’s infinitely less significant when compared to the Christian race and the prize that awaits the winners. Here’s why we should spend far less time playing sports and worrying about trophies than we do running for the “crown of righteousness.”

1. Staying fit physically has some temporary value, but “working out spiritually” has eternal benefits. It’s good to eat healthy and stay physically fit, but whether we live to be 20 or 200, our time in this body is very short in light of eternity. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 -- Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
2. I can win “first prize.” No matter how good I may be at softball, basketball, or any other arena of competition, there will always be somebody better. Only one person can finish first and be the best. But in the Christian race, we can all finish “first.” Our success is not determined by what we did compared to what others did, but by our faithfulness. The famous Vince Lombardi said, “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” He also said, “Winning isn’t everything but wanting to win is.” In God’s eyes, how fast we can run or how high we can jump compared to others doesn’t matter. To Him, it’s about the heart. If we are doing the best we can with what He has given us at the things He has called us to do, and if we have an attitude that desires to do even more, then we get first prize.
3. The “crown of righteousness” will never fade away. Crowns from Christ don’t get buried in closets. 1 Corinthians 9:25 -- And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 1 Peter 1:3-4 -- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who…has begotten us again…to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away…”

A Mother's Wish

What is your greatest wish for your children? Happiness, wealth, health, comfort, love, power, fame? I think every mother starts out believing their child is destined for greatness. Mom is sure her little boy is a genius because he could count to 10 and say his ABC’s before he was three years old, and her little girl is sure to be the first female president of the United States since she potty-trained before she was two. I’ve never known a mother who didn’t want great things for her kids.

The mother of James and John, two of Jesus’ closest comrades, was no different. In Matthew 20, we learn that she dropped to her knees before Jesus and made the bold request that her two boys be granted to flank Him on their own thrones when He eventually sat upon the throne of His kingdom. Any mother might have done the same thing. How did Jesus respond to this request for greatness? By teaching them what true greatness really looks like. “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28).”

Greatness is not found in climbing the ladder of success and mounting a throne of power, prestige, or big profits. If that’s the direction we steer our children, they will likely use, abuse, and hurt a lot of people along the way. They’ll likely learn to serve themselves instead of God (Matt. 6:24), and they might even lose their souls (Luke 9:24-25).

Instead, Jesus explains that true greatness is found in selflessness, surrender, sacrifice, and service—choosing to bring God glory instead of seeking their own glory; choosing to let go of their own agendas and live for the center of God’s will; choosing to care less about meeting their own needs and sacrifice to meet the needs of others instead; choosing to give their lives for the glory of God and the good of all peoples. That’s greatness by God’s definition. That might mean a little hut in Honduras instead of a corner office in Cleveland. That might mean a nursing job for pennies in New Guinea instead of thousands in New Jersey. That might mean sharing the gospel to the homeless instead of selling houses on the lake.

So the question is really this: At the end of their lives, do we want our children to hear “well done” from the world or from God?

Great Grace...Great Power

Wouldn't you like to experience greater power as a Christian? Would you like to be moved by God in a dynamic way? Would you like to be used by God in a dynamic way? That was the experience of the apostles. In Acts 4:33, we read: "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." Several observations about this verse...

1. Did the apostles experience great grace because they exerted great power, or did they experience great power because they were experiencing extra grace from the Lord? Grace cannot be earned or gained by effort, or else it would not be grace. Therefore great grace was not upon them because of their efforts and successes at great witnessing. Thus we must understand it this way: the power they displayed was the result of God's grace upon them. It was the means by which they experienced great power. Without God's graciously working through them, they would have never experienced great power. If not for God's grace, no one would have listened. Without God's grace, no one would have been converted. If we want to experience great power, the source is not seminary, conferences, beautiful buildings, strategies or gimmicks; we need the gracious appearance of God's power. "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord."

2. "Great grace was upon them all." Not some, not a few, but all of them. That encourages me. I can't earn grace. I can't earn the power that stems from grace. If I have power, it will be because of God's grace, and God's grace is a very real possibility -- even to me. Even to you.

3. They had great power, but notice for what purpose: to give "witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." Too often we are asking for power to overcome an enemy, endure a hardship, or crest some mountain. More than anything we ought to desire the great grace that brings great power in order that we might be great witnesses of and for our Savior.

If we desire great power, we need great grace. So "let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace..." -- Hebrews 4:16

Magnify the Majesty

Our greatest obligation as well as our greatest opportunity is to glorify God. For this we have been designed and created. To this we are daily called. Our greatest joy is experienced and our highest success attained when we fulfill that purpose. Nothing can satisfy the soul as much as accomplishing the very thing for which we were created to perform.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Of course we should glorify God in the church sanctuary. We should also glorify Him at work, at school, at the ball field, and every other place of importance in our lives. But we should also glorify Him at the dinner table. Eating and drinking are the two most basic activities of all humans, and the Bible tells us that even in these most basic, routine, seemingly mundane practices we are to make a conscious effort to bring glory to our God.

If glorifying God is intended to be a vital ingredient of our daily lives, we need to know exactly how to do it. What does it mean to glorify God? One way to glorify God is to magnify God. Just as a telescope zero's in on the majesty of the heavens and brings them close for our observation, so we should make much of the greatness of God by making Him as visible as possible to those around us.

I'll never forget the night I stood in an open field far from the lights and sounds of the city, and gazed at the moon through a powerful telescope provided by the science department of the college I was attending. The moon was beautiful that night, even to the naked eye, but it was breath-taking when I saw it through the scope of that powerful magnifier. We are to do the same. We are to show people how truly magnificent our God is as we speak of how much He means to us, what great things He has done for us, the joy we find in His service, the hope we have in His promises, and the peace we experience in His presence. When people hear about God from us, it should be as though they are seeing God in a way they have never seen Him before.

The moon and stars are beautiful, yet so many people rush around in the night with little thought of the majesty above them. Even when they chance to look up, so little can be seen because of the artificial lights and distractions of this world. Our God is also beautiful--so much more than the heavens He created--yet so few look His way. Those who do perhaps find it difficult to see through the haze the greatness of who we know Him to be. That's where we come in. We must glorify Him by magnifying Him, that the world might see.

The Hunger of Christ

In Matthew 4, we read that Jesus celebrated the beginning of His earthly ministry with a forty day fast. Not forty minutes. Not forty hours. Forty days. No food from the sunrise of day number one until the sunrise of day number forty-one...or something very close to that.

On day forty, Satan slithered up to Jesus and suggested that Jesus do something seemingly innocent and certainly within Christ's ability -- turn some rocks into rolls. At this point in Christ's life, He had yet to perform His first miracle. It probably would have felt nice to finally unleash some of His miraculous power. It probably would have tasted great to pop in a nice, warm piece of bread. It definitely would have been nice to finally give that famished stomach some relief. It probably would have been nice to feel the energy that comes from the nourishment of food. No doubt, Jesus was hungry!

But He was more hungry for God. His greatest hunger was to obey God, for it was the Spirit that led him into the wilderness to fast. He longed to resist the temptation of Satan more than to relish the short-lived pleasures of self-gratification. The sounds from His stomach were drowned out by the high calling of His Father to learn sacrifice for His glory. I'm sure Jesus would have loved to face His greatest enemy in the face and show off His superior rank by a miraculous act of God. But as John Piper put it, "Jesus hungered more for God and God's will than he did for God's wonders."1

After forty days with no food, Jesus still hungered more for God than He did for food. Yet we live as though we might die if we go one day without food, one day without television, one day without facebook, one day without our lover, one day without ___________ (fill in the blank).

May we become a people who crave the sweet presence of the Lord in our lives more than anything else. Like Jesus, may we say that "[our] food is to do the will of [the Father]." -- John 4:34

1 - John Piper, A Hunger For God, pg. 60

The Weight of The Cross

As every Christian should, I want my life to be all about Jesus.

Eternity will not be long enough to explore and express the magnificence of who He is and what He has done. We know much about Christ, but how much do we really understand? How could we possibly grasp the horror of what He endured physically on the cross? How could we possibly fathom the even greater agony of bearing the sin of His people and having His Father turn His face from Him? I fear that we will never know the full significance of that experience. But that's how God would have it. In His love and mercy, He has spared us of knowing the full weight of that cross. Praise be to His grace!

As I consider the ways I wish for my life to be conformed to Christ, John 1:14 rises to the top of the list. There Jesus is described as being "full of grace and truth." Jesus spoke the truth boldly, but the truth was always balanced with grace. Jesus was meek and lowly, full of compassion for those around Him, but His graciousness never kept Him from speaking hard truth. I am not full of grace and truth, but I am growing. Lord, help us all.