The Importance of Our Motivation
“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
Our motivation to serve the Lord comes from our heart and the Lord looks at our hearts. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23) Jesus was motivated by love and compassion, love for the Father and love for people. We are to have the mind and heart of Jesus and we are to be motivated by a heart of love and compassion. Love for the Father and the Son is revealed by our love for ministering to people.
When our hearts are filled with the Lord’s love, we are changed and love now motivates us. The commands in the Bible become natural and desirable. We live to serve the Lord, Christ is our life, and we live in the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship. We are dependent on the Lord because we know we can do nothing without Christ in our hearts guiding our thoughts and words.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) This verse describes us when our hearts are filled with the Lord’s love. Our life is now centered on Christ and people. Ministering to people and pointing souls to Christ is fulfilling and desirable in our life and it is the purpose of our life.
Love moves our soul closer to the Lord and away from the world. We minister to the world but our soul lives in the Kingdom. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7) A heart of love connects us to the Lord because God is love. A heart of love not only brings us closer to the Lord, but it also increases our desire to be with the Father and the Son causing us to live for eternal life.
Our hearts are changed when filled with the Lord’s love and compassion. The commands in the Bible become natural and desirable to us because they bring us closer to the Lord giving us life to the full and helping us minister to people. When we experience the blessings of having the faith and the desire to live by all of God’s commands, we will live to minister to others.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) There is no command greater than this because it is the foundation of our Christian life. God’s love in our hearts is what changes us, it motivates us, and the commands in the Bible describe our new Godly character. Our hearts filled with love is the only thing that frees us from self and moves our focus to Christ and others. When our hearts are filled with love, we are motivated to live for Christ, we are free, and we overcome the world. God’s love cast out fear.
Today, know the Lord looks at our hearts to see what motivates us. He knows we have changed when we live for Christ and depend on Christ. Our hearts hurt for lost souls and we pray for the Lord to open doors to tell them the good news of Christ.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for changing my heart and filling it with your divine love. As I minister to the world, keep filling my heart with your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.