Why do you love God? Why do you worship Him? Really? Do you love and worship Him because of His love, grace, and mercy? Is your love for Him rooted in His capacity to help during your direst straits, particularly when you face a daunting task? Do you love and worship Him because of how He has so richly provided life, food, finances, and relationships for you, even healing you? Do you love and worship Him because how He exchanges fear about tomorrow for hope, truth, and wisdom that you can share with others? Bottom line: What motivates you, not just to join His family but to keep on loving and worshipping Him when your world falls apart; or would you even continue to love and worship him. John wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 (NKJV) He took the initiative, and we responded—but what motives us to continue to love Him?
Connie and I believed our love was genuine upon marriage; 56 years later we recognize our current affection surpasses its initial form. My current adoration for Connie transcends her initial affection for me, her character, her actions toward me, or her looks, though I still find these qualities appealing. I love her now because of who she was as a person. So why do you love your spouse even if they, like Connie, have graduated into their reward?
Dallas Willard wrote in his book ‘In Hearing God’, I fear that many people seek to hear God solely as a device for securing their own safety, comfort, and righteousness. For those who busy themselves to know the will of God, however, it is still true that “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25, ESV). My fervent desire to discern God’s plan for myself could stem from self-preoccupation, not genuine care for others or God’s honor.
Frederick B. Meyer writes in his book ‘The Secret of Guidance’, “So long as there is some thought of personal advantage, some idea of acquiring the praise and commendation of men, some aim of self-aggrandizement, it will be simply impossible to find out God’s purpose concerning us.” Nothing will go right in our effort to hear God if this false motivation is its foundation. God will not cooperate. We must discover a different motivation for knowing God’s will and listening to His voice.
Our spiritual life consists of more than just rhetoric or behavior. It certainly must include gratitude for all He does for us. Yet, God finds the greatest pleasure in what flows from the intense love in our hearts for Him. What does God see as motivating you to love Him with all that you are?