As we head into the Festive Season, I want to spend some time considering the motives of our heart and what exactly it is that serves to motivates us. We celebrate Christmas because of God’s great love for us. Love is what motivates God, because God is love. Ultimately our motives determine what drives us and Jesus really got to the heart of the matter when He said to Peter “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15) Peter had denied Jesus and forsaken his heavenly calling and Jesus, in restoring Peter, started with his motive and motivation.
When Jesus said, “Do you love me more than these?” He was referring to the love He had for Jesus compared to the other disciples. Jesus didn’t ask about Peter’s faith, He asked him about his love. In Luke 28, Nicodemus was talking with Jesus he summed up all the requirements of the law with the statement, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus agreed with him. Love is the primary motive, and the primary motivation God is concerned with.
How can we measure love? Can we lose our love for Jesus? Can our love for Him grow cold? When Jesus addressed the Church in Ephesus, He said “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you first had.” (Revelation 2:2-4)
The Ephesians had really paid the price, they had fought for the true faith, they had tremendous endurance and discernment, they hadn’t quit and yet in spite of it all, their love for Jesus had waned. As believers, this is a trap we can all fall into, after a while we can find ourselves doing things and lose sight of the reason why we began doing them in the first place!
Hardship can dull our love for Jesus. Peter had walked away from Him because of the adversity of the Cross. He had denied Jesus and yet God’s love continued to reach out to him. God’s love is always reaching out because God is love! 1 John 4:8 says “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” As we go through difficulties we can make the decision to grow bitter or better, we can grow colder in our love for Jesus or we can let that love go deeper.
Ultimately whatever we love rules our life. That’s why Jesus said you can serve God and money. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The same is true of anything that we love other than God even ourselves and own families.
Jesus said in Luke 14:26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else ‘by comparison’ your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” Anything that takes us away from love for Jesus, even love for ourselves, can be an idol replacing God. God wants us to love Him first and foremost.
When Jesus challenged the rich young ruler to follow Him, he was unwilling to give up all he had to follow Jesus. Jesus wanted to make sure that material possessions were not an idol in his life. Luke 18:18-23) Ultimately, when we make the decision to follow Jesus and be His disciple there will be times when only our love for Him will keep us going. Know that the enemy is always at work to discourage and hinder the work of God in our lives. If we have nothing but love for Jesus and our motive, we become unstoppable!
God is not the kind of God who is looking for obedience just for obedience sake. He is looking for people who have a love for God, who have a love for others, that is the most powerful motive and motivation in the Universe. Maybe you have been through some things in life that have dulled your love for Jesus. Maybe you’re feeling tired, discouraged and a little burnt out.
I want to encourage you to examine your heart afresh today; how high is your love level for Jesus? Is it high? Is it low? If you need to take some time to spend with God so you can get a fresh baptism in the love of God, I’d encourage you to do that. God loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life; it all begins when we respond to that love.
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