Jesus is lovingly stating a fact, but he's also making a precious promise: love will motivate behavior. He completely knows us, even the inmost thoughts of our hearts. He knows of our desire to obey and our shame and sadness because of our failures. But he also knows this: as our love for him grows, our obedience will grow, too.Excerpt from "Comfort from the Cross" by Elyse Fitzpatrick
The key to a godly life is not more and more self-generated effort. Instead, Jesus is saying, "Love me and your obedience will flow naturally from that love." The secret to obedience isn't formulaic steps found in a self-help book. It is a relentless pursuit of love for him. How then do I cultivate the sincerity of love that motivates obedience? By focusing more intently on his love for me than on my love for him, more on his obedience than mine, more on his faithfulness than mine, more on his strengths than mine.
Orthodoxy (correct doctrine), Orthopraxis (correct actions) and Orthocardia (correct heart). The Puritans used to talk about the need to have all three. We tend to think a lot about the first two. Let us not forget that, "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
Friday, March 18, 2011
What Motivates Your Behavior?
John 14:15: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
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