What Motivates You?

      Hello there.  It's pretty late in my part of the world --it's after midnight,  but I know it's been a while since I posted.  I really shouldn't let so much time lapse -- I don't mean to be so sporadic.  All that aside, tomorrow morning I leave for Maywood Christian Camp - so I will be away from my computer for a while.  I've been very excited about camp for several weeks now.  I love going to work as a counselor   and Bible class teacher.  I learn so much from those young ladies!   
        Today, I watched a television show with my husband.  It was an educational show about bee colonies.  I enjoyed it.  It was quite interesting, but I heard a man say something that set me back a bit.  He was a commercial owner of several hundred bee colonies.  As he was discussing his business, he said people are motivated by two things:  fear and greed. 
       I immediately began to feel sorry for this man.  He went on to talk about how successful his business and the expensive lifestyle he enjoyed.  How tragic!  In my opinion, the person who is motivated only by greed must live a sad life indeed.  Fear and greed are not the only two things that motivate humans. 
      What about love?  Many people are motivated by love.  We act on behalf of the folks we love.  Love prompts action.  We want the best for those we care about and we do our part to help make that happen.  We reap what we sow ...that's a Biblical truth.  It is as true now as it was the day it was written.  If we sow love -- we will reap love. 
       Christ told us the greatest commandment is love.  We are to love our God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength.  The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.  Love God ... love your fellow man.  This love should be our motivation for life. 
       Faith in and love for God and for Christ our Redeemer should be the focus of our entire lives.  When we pray we should pray with love in our hearts.  When we sing praises to Him, we should smile and happily sing to declare our love for God.  After all, He has done so much for us. 
        God sent His only begotten Son to this earth ... for us.  This is a love that we cannot fathom.  But it was His love for us that prompted this action.  He wanted to give us a chance to be with Him in heaven.  When we love someone, we want to be with them, right?  Well, God loves us and wants to be with us when our time on earth is done. 
        There was a price to be paid.  Christ left heaven and came to earth because He loved us.  He was motivated by love.  He hung on that cross and suffered all that pain because He loved us.  There was no greed in His sacrifice.
      The human part of Jesus did not want to go through what He did.  He prayed to the Father for another way.  But His perfect blood was the price to be paid for our souls.  In the end, He wasn't motivated by fear.   The greater emotion was love ... love triumphed over fear. 
         S0 - now the question is what motivates you?  Fear?  Maybe it is greed.  What about love?  Do you center your life wholly around Christ and let your love for Him be the guiding force in everything you do?  It's our choice.  Christ left it up to us .... 

Christ above all things,
Robin