Love Produces Service

As I was reading the book "An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith" yesterday, one of the chapters fit in so well with what was shared in the earlier post regarding serving the Lord. This chapter added depth and understanding to why we are to serve, and what is the impetus for that service. It is love for the Lord.

Excerpt from chapter eighteen:

"Knowing God leads to holiness. He alone becomes one's consuming passion, displacing all other desires and overcoming the power of sin in our lives. His presence within is sufficient to satisfy every longing. For to know God is to love Him - and there is no higher motivation for obedience to His commands than love. In fact, no other motivation is accepted. It is no accident that the first commandment is, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might ' (Deuteronomy 6:5).

"Obedience to God's laws must spring from love for Him. Otherwise, as 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 declares, obeying the letter of the law is nothing. We could give all our possessions to the poor and submit to martyrdom at the stake in service for Christ, but if our motive is not love it would all be in vain. So it is that Christ declared, 'If a man love me he will keep my words . . . he that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings' (John 14:23, 24).

"Loving God is the secret of the Christian life. If we truly love Him, then we want to serve, please, and glorify Him. We would not want to do anything or even think a thought that would displease or dishonor Him. A genuine love for God - and only that love - produces consistent holiness in our daily lives."

(Taken from An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith by Dave Hunt; excerpt from chapter 18 'Knowing and Loving God'; pages 149-150)

-Posted by Sarah