Motivation to Serve
II Corinthians 5:14-15
As I thought about Pastor’s theme for our church this year – “I Choose” – based on Joshua 24:15, I, once again, thought about why should I choose to serve the Lord? Why should I live my life by faith – learning the Bible and being a doer of the Word? Why should I be faithful to every service at church? Why should I tithe and give offerings? Why should I bite my tongue and be kind to people who treat me wrong? Why should I verbally witness to folks or take a Biblical stand on sensitive issues knowing I may be derided or shunned? Why should I take on responsibilities at church instead of enjoying more personal entertainment or hobbies? And the questions can go on and on…These and other questions cross my mind from time to time, especially when I hit a hard or discouraging place in my life. So, what is my motivation to be strong and of a good courage to keep serving the Lord like He told Joshua to do? There are a bunch of verses that offer this motivation. I have been thinking of 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 lately.
Hear what Paul tells our Corinthian brethren: “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead: And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again. “
Wow, what powerful and strengthening verses these are. How many verses can you think of that talk of the love of Christ for us, for me? John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:20; John 15:13; Romans 8: 38, 39 are just a few. “Constraineth” – this love of Christ demonstrated at Calvary and at the empty tomb compels or draws us to Him and obedience to His Word. “We thus judge” means to investigate or check out this love toward us. As I investigate this, the verse goes on to say that He died for all. Hey, that is me! According to 1 John 2:2, He is my propitiation – His loving sacrifice satisfied the wrath of God for my sin. I deserve to be separated from God in Hell forever, but He took my eternal hell upon Himself. God’s justice demands payment for every sin in order to be right with Him, and Jesus Christ has done that for us! And so Paul continues the reasoning in verse fifteen as he says “that they which live” – those that have accepted Christ as their personal Saviour and repented of their sins (alive in Christ – Ephesians 2:1) should not live for themselves, but for Christ (henceforth – from the moment of my salvation until I go to Heaven). Living unto myself includes picking and choosing what I want to do according to the Bible, but living unto Him (His Word) means to submit every single aspect of my life to His Word. It is a grand thought that Paul ends verse fifteen with – the definition of the love of Christ mentioned at the beginning of verse fourteen – “but unto Him which died for them and rose again” – the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
So my brethren, be encouraged by these great verses to start or continue giving 100% of ourselves over to Him by learning and obeying His Word. If we do, we will hear Him say to us personally – “WELL DONE”!! Now that is motivation isn’t it!?