Motivation

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

People love these verses . . . in fact, we have them hanging on a wall in our home as a reminder to how we should treat others daily . . . even within the privacy of our own home, among family! So many outside of the Body of Christ call us hypocrites! Why is this? I would venture to say it is because they observe and experience how we treat others . . . even fellow believers. We quote verses from Scripture as the ones above, yet we live with hatred, sadness, unrest, evil deeds, lies, broken promises, abusive relationships, and no self-control. We are duped by the me-first world we live in and believe we must do it to survive . . ."It's the world we live in", we say.

How disgraceful! As if Christ is addressing us as He did in Revelation: He knows what we believe and He knows we are doing good things. However I can almost hear Him speak to me at times saying . . .

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

(Revelation 2:4)

What good are you and I if we just know Scripture or spout off all kinds of words? People today, especially children, need to experience Christ! We have to get into the lives of people and really care! Before Jesus taught, He loved, He cried, He listended, He met needs. In fact, He entered into our world!

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

(Matthew 5:13-16)

Are we all dried up? Are we as good as a burned out light bulb? When we enter into a situation do we bring healing, understanding, encouragement, enlightenment . . . or more turmoil and disruption? Do we care enough to care and risk committment? Everything we do should be done to bring honor to God . . . causing others to desire to know Him better. What(or Who)is our motivation?