Motivation

 
    Motivation. Everyone's got to have it in absolutely everything they do. Each and every person has a motivation to get out of bed in the morning--to get prepared for a long day, to go get breakfast, to make the alarm clock shut up. Both small and grand actions require motivation, a reason to do something. A purpose for the work.
    Purpose. What is our purpose? As the designed creations of a Creator? To please Him. To do what He made us for. When someone designs and builds a robot, it's expected to do as it was programmed and equipped for. So it's absolutely appropriate that our divine Creator receives the desired result from His successfully formed creations.
    The fact that serving the Lord is the right thing to do is a very good motivation indeed. But it's not our only one.
    Another factor in our motivation is that God has been so good to us, and we're grateful! He's rescued us and brought us into this fantastic relationship with Him. We've been given an ability to talk with God and to do things not only for but with Him.. These are awesome things! Gratefulness is a natural response that generates a motivation to serve.
    But that's still not all. There's at least one other point from which our motivation to serve God stems.
    Love. God loves us. And thanks to His grace, we can love Him back. Love is the strongest motivation of all, powerful enough to endure pretty much anything. Love was the Lord's motivation when He went to the cross; He saved humanity in His love, going through pain and humiliation for it. In response to this, we give love back to the Lord, give our hearts to Him, and serve with unselfish love. Love for God, and love for all people.
    Respect for God, gratitude for God, and love for God. These all combine for a sole motivation to serve and please the Lord: the Lord Himself! He is our motivation. This motivation gives us strength when we're tired, endurance when life gets difficult, and comfort when we need it most. He keeps us going when the road gets rocky.
    Motivation. Isn't it a wonderful thing?