GRACE is MOTIVATION to LIVE

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.  Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. (1 Corinthians 15:3-11)

What motivates us to get up every morning? Is it the job . . . the gym . . . family . . . or an opportunity to serve?

Scripture is clear regarding what should motivate us: Gratitude for what Jesus Christ did for us in willingly going to the cross . . .gratitude in every aspect of life. God's beloved Son, Jesus, gave His life as a sacrifice so that we could have eternal life with God. It may sound a bit strange, but we find our life in Christ's death and resurrection.  God's gift to us was Jesus' sacrifice . . . a gift we did not deserve!

Charles Spurgeon said this back in the 1800's:  "The most potent motive for holiness is free grace and we should be moved by gratitude to a height of dedication and purity and obedience that mere legalism can never know."

We are not our own. By God's grace we are here today and freed from sin. That alone is motivation to honor Him. Every day is a day to serve God by serving others.

What will we do today

with the opportunities we are presented?