Many things motivate us to do good deeds - some pretty selfish, some common to most humans. e all recognize mixed motives in some or much of the good we do. But how do we keep doing good when we are tempted to discouragement; or when we are just simply weary?
Remaining optimistic about the future seems very easy for some who appear to be born optimists. They expect every cup to be at least half full and every tomorrow to be sunny. For others, optimism about the future depends on their confidence in the government; or the latest stock market trends; or if they have been ignoring daily news reports.
In a very pithy (I don't use that word often) sentence the Apostle Paul summarizes both the motivation and the optimism of the young Christians in Thessalonica. He brought the Good News to them is writing to them within not many months after they came to faith. This is how he remembers them:
"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thess. 1:2
May this be what motivates and keep us serving people and our God: Faith in Christ and his call to serve others; the love of God for us and working in us causing us to love others; and the strength to endure because we know that our future is assured: we will live with Christ forever.
Of course much more could be said about Christian motivation and what helps us to endure. However for a one sentence summary, it may be hard to beat this one written about those early Christians.
Remaining optimistic about the future seems very easy for some who appear to be born optimists. They expect every cup to be at least half full and every tomorrow to be sunny. For others, optimism about the future depends on their confidence in the government; or the latest stock market trends; or if they have been ignoring daily news reports.
In a very pithy (I don't use that word often) sentence the Apostle Paul summarizes both the motivation and the optimism of the young Christians in Thessalonica. He brought the Good News to them is writing to them within not many months after they came to faith. This is how he remembers them:
"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thess. 1:2
May this be what motivates and keep us serving people and our God: Faith in Christ and his call to serve others; the love of God for us and working in us causing us to love others; and the strength to endure because we know that our future is assured: we will live with Christ forever.
Of course much more could be said about Christian motivation and what helps us to endure. However for a one sentence summary, it may be hard to beat this one written about those early Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment