Has there ever been a moment of passion and zeal where you wish you could do anything and everything for the sake of Christ? Where you've counted the cost and would be willing to loose all, to risk all, to live completely abandoned for Christ? Has eternity ever scorched your mind and make you wonder why you aren't spending every moment pleading with lost? Has the parable of the talents left you striving to make the most every moment (Matthew25)? Does life seem so short, that you feel guilty for resting? Does the promise of eternal rewards make you want to be involved in any ministry, outreach, evangelism available?
These are the thoughts that often run through my head, and yet, as much as I try to give up everything and go "all out", I never feel like I'm doing enough. Why? It doesn't seem like I've got bad motives. Yes, I may die younger from exhaustion, but that doesn't seem so bad in light of eternity. Why can't I find fulfilment?
The Right Thing, For the Wrong Reason.
I went with my parents as they took two years of cross-cultural missions training. During that time, I heard of allot of amazing stories of missionaries living radical lives for the sake of the gospel. They accomplished so much, suffered many hardships, and drew close to God. What I didn't realize, was that suffering doesn't always mean sanctification; good deeds don't always mean godliness.
I wanted that life of complete abandon for Christ, but I wanted it for the wrong reasons. I came to it with the wrong motivation.
Activism is when doing things defines your life. It says," I am what I accomplish; I place my value in what I can get done". So all these different ministries I wanted to be involved in and the guilt I would feel for taking God given rest, was because I found value in what I did, instead of what God has already done.
Motivation.
We read in the gospels how Jesus took God's commandments a step further:
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. " Matthew 5:21-22
The deed can be a sin, and the motivation before doing the deed can be a sin. You can take it even further and say that you can have a sinful motivation behind doing a good deed.
For example, if I'm playing Sunday on the worship team, but I'm playing to draw attention to myself, it's wrong and doesn't please God. This is what Isaiah meant when he said," all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) Jesus also taught this when he called the pharisees whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27). They did good deeds on the outside, but in their hearts they were wicked.
How to Live Completely Abandoned for Christ.
It always starts with the heart. How do we gain the right motivation? Here are just a few things to help steer our hearts in the right direction.
First, gratitude should be the Christian's #1 motivation. What God has done for us, in sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins and raising Him up on the third day, should compel us to live for Him. Not the motivation that sinners die every day and go to hell, though that is a fearful reality. Not the motivation that we want our lives to be worth something in the end, because Jesus' life was the only one of worth, and He sacrificed it for worthless sinners like us.
Secondly, we must remember, that our lives don't add to or serve God in any way. He doesn't need anything. There is nothing we can do to make Him more than what He already is. Our purpose on this earth is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. We obey God and keep His commandments, not because He needs us to, but because we love Him.
Thirdly, what we do doesn't make Him love us more, or make us more acceptable in His sight. Because of Jesus and His righteousness on our account, we are perfectly loved by God. There is nothing we can add to what Christ has done. The Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus. It doesn't get any better than that!(John17:23)
Fourthly, everything we do should be done for God's glory and not our own. A huge motivation for doing things is for ourselves. We do things to get people to like us. We do things to be noticed. We do things to satisfy our greed. We do things to feel good about ourselves. We do things to make our lives easier. The list could go on. We must not fall into that trap! God is so great, He deserves all our worship!
This is what God has been teaching me of late and how He has been directing my heart back to Him. I pray He does the same for you.
Sincerely,
Brooke
These are the thoughts that often run through my head, and yet, as much as I try to give up everything and go "all out", I never feel like I'm doing enough. Why? It doesn't seem like I've got bad motives. Yes, I may die younger from exhaustion, but that doesn't seem so bad in light of eternity. Why can't I find fulfilment?
The Right Thing, For the Wrong Reason.
I went with my parents as they took two years of cross-cultural missions training. During that time, I heard of allot of amazing stories of missionaries living radical lives for the sake of the gospel. They accomplished so much, suffered many hardships, and drew close to God. What I didn't realize, was that suffering doesn't always mean sanctification; good deeds don't always mean godliness.
I wanted that life of complete abandon for Christ, but I wanted it for the wrong reasons. I came to it with the wrong motivation.
My motivation for doing all these things seemingly was for God, but in reality, it was to appease my conscience. If I was doing these things for God, I would have spent time knowing His will and how He wanted me to spend my life. Instead, I was serving my activism.
Activism is when doing things defines your life. It says," I am what I accomplish; I place my value in what I can get done". So all these different ministries I wanted to be involved in and the guilt I would feel for taking God given rest, was because I found value in what I did, instead of what God has already done.
Motivation.
We read in the gospels how Jesus took God's commandments a step further:
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. " Matthew 5:21-22
The deed can be a sin, and the motivation before doing the deed can be a sin. You can take it even further and say that you can have a sinful motivation behind doing a good deed.
For example, if I'm playing Sunday on the worship team, but I'm playing to draw attention to myself, it's wrong and doesn't please God. This is what Isaiah meant when he said," all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) Jesus also taught this when he called the pharisees whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27). They did good deeds on the outside, but in their hearts they were wicked.
How to Live Completely Abandoned for Christ.
It always starts with the heart. How do we gain the right motivation? Here are just a few things to help steer our hearts in the right direction.
First, gratitude should be the Christian's #1 motivation. What God has done for us, in sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins and raising Him up on the third day, should compel us to live for Him. Not the motivation that sinners die every day and go to hell, though that is a fearful reality. Not the motivation that we want our lives to be worth something in the end, because Jesus' life was the only one of worth, and He sacrificed it for worthless sinners like us.
Secondly, we must remember, that our lives don't add to or serve God in any way. He doesn't need anything. There is nothing we can do to make Him more than what He already is. Our purpose on this earth is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. We obey God and keep His commandments, not because He needs us to, but because we love Him.
Thirdly, what we do doesn't make Him love us more, or make us more acceptable in His sight. Because of Jesus and His righteousness on our account, we are perfectly loved by God. There is nothing we can add to what Christ has done. The Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus. It doesn't get any better than that!(John17:23)
Fourthly, everything we do should be done for God's glory and not our own. A huge motivation for doing things is for ourselves. We do things to get people to like us. We do things to be noticed. We do things to satisfy our greed. We do things to feel good about ourselves. We do things to make our lives easier. The list could go on. We must not fall into that trap! God is so great, He deserves all our worship!
This is what God has been teaching me of late and how He has been directing my heart back to Him. I pray He does the same for you.
Sincerely,
Brooke
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