Motivated by Love

“My father surprised me. I did the worst thing imaginable, and I expected the worst punishment my Father could think of. But, instead, he forgave me. And he said, genuinely, and lovingly, don’t let it happen again.”

We were discussing the concept from Titus 2:10, that “The grace of God teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.” Someone asked the question, how does grace motivate us to say “No” to temptations? It seems that rules, commands, and legalistic expectations would be far more effective in persuading us to be obedient, compliant, and to stay out of trouble. Fear of punishment is a far greater motivator than grace, it would seem.

But our storyteller in the group that night went on to tell us how that exchange with his father affected him some fifty years earlier in his life, when he was about twelve years old. He said that he was so moved by his Father’s love and forgiveness that he never did that horrible misdeed again. Never. Furthermore, he never even considered doing anything like it.

Wow! That was a perfect illustration of the power of love. Not only human love, but the love of our Father above.

When I first came to understand grace, after being a Christian for thirty years, it transformed my life. I was able to live free from shame and enjoy my relationship with Jesus as never before. I began to contemplate, though, what is the motivation to overcome sin’s hold in my life if I live in grace? It took some time to get it dialed in, and it was probably in the rearview mirror that I realized I had discovered it. Fear of punishment had never worked. I could confess and bargain with God a hundred times and I would always fall again, swept away by the power of Sin, trusting my own willpower to conquer it so I could make God proud of me.  But as I let God’s love and grace permeate my heart and mind it became the dominant motivator as I lived in intimate fellowship with Jesus. I let go of fear of punishment, and let go of trying really, really hard not to fail, so that He could be proud of me. I rested in His incredible love and it began to transform me, giving me hope, power, purpose, and new direction. But most of all, I found myself relating to God in love -- reciprocating love. “We love because He first loved us….There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” (I Jn 4:18,19)

My life testimony now, in six words is this: “Tried so hard. Failed. Then grace."

God’s grace incorporates three main ingredients – love, forgiveness, and transformation. And the greatest of these may be love. His love motivates us to say no to ungodliness and live self-controlled lives. Thank you God for your great, great love.