Motivation

What motivates us to follow Jesus? What is it that drives us toward Christ-likeness? What is it that compels us to love God? Excellent and poignant questions, if I do say so myself. So what would you say is your main motivation? Is it the reward of heaven or the avoidance of hell? Are you looking for purpose and hope in this world? Maybe you are just thankful for God's love. Whatever your motivators are, they should become a driving force that moves us to follow Jesus more and more. It is a spiritual growth-stimulator.

There are several valid motivators, which would be considered biblical, but perhaps the central-most of these is simply our longing for God. We are all looking to for something to fill this deep-seated need in our lives. The problem for most of us is that we cannot identify what that need is, so we try all kinds of things to fill it. Have you ever played with one of those "shape-o" toys? It's this plastic ball with several different holes around it, and each hole is a different shape. Then you have several little blocks that are each a different shape that corresponds to one of the holes in the ball. In other words, there is only one hole that each shape will fit into. I know it is hard to understand. After all, it is a kid's toy. :) That is how I would describe this deep-seated longing we each have. It is a God-shaped hole and only God can fill it. Every one of us is longing for God. This is not simply a non-believer longing. Christians long for God as well. Have you ever spent time in nature, observed a beautiful sunset, or even listened to a piece of music that just created a longing feeling? These times occur, and in those times the creation is calling us toward the Creator.

What about simply realizing our identity in Christ? Did you know that one of the key elements of Paul's epistles is the way what we do flows out of who we are in Him. Talk about a motivating factor. You want to know who you are in Christ? Read Ephesians 1. Read Romans 8. Those passages will give you such a sense of identity that you should not look to the world for anything else. Why would we try to identify ourselves with our work? Why would we identify ourselves with a sports team or a musical group? We are a part of the body of Christ. We are co-heirs with him, adopted into God's family through him. When you begin to grasp your identity as God's child, there is nothing else that really matters. Becoming more and more like him is all that you want to do. Thus, what you do flows out of who you are.

What else motivates us to follow Jesus? Is it God's love for you? That is definitely a motivating factor. We only love Him because He first loved us. His love causes us to exhibit extreme levels of gratitude and thanksgiving. When you stop and think about what you deserve and what is being offered to you, you cannot help but respond with love and gratitude. These are the things that motivate us to grow, to walk with Jesus, to become like him. If they motivate us so much, then why do we have such a difficult time persevering? Why do we get so distracted?

Perhaps you allow things that are not godly to become your motivations for living. Money, power, and various other temptations become motivating forces when we are not in communion with God. When we take our eyes off the true prize, it is easy to get hooked on the fake, the counterfeit prize. There is absolutely no substitute for a daily relationship with God. It is a must. Funny how this is so cyclical, isn't it? We need to be in relationship with God to keep our focus right, and we need to keep our motivations right to stay in relationship with Him.

My challenge to you is to be introspective. Here are a couple of questions I took from Kenneth Boa's Conformed to His Image, and I think it would do you some good to think honestly on these for a few minutes. (1) Do you love God more for himself than for his gifts and benefits? (2) Are you more motivated to seek his glory and honor than you are to seek your own?

If you cannot answer yes, then it's time to recenter your focus on Jesus. Take the time every day to be with God. Pursue Him! Spend time in His Word and in prayer with Him. There is nothing more necessary than this. Then your motivating forces will be the ones Jesus talks about in the Scriptures. He is GOD! And we can have a relationship with Him. Why would we blow Him off?