Motivated by the Fathers Love, God’s life flows out of you.
Rest and Security
Motivated by the Fathers love, you will find the fruit of the Spirit flowing out of you naturally. Even as a bird doesn’t “try” to fly but naturally glides on the wind, so you won’t have to try to love, it just flows.
Then, your natural needs for affirmation, comfort, and security flow from their source — God. So you walk in joy.- You can therefore express a grace in how you relate to yourself and others in daily activities and even in the shortcomings we all experience.
- Finally, a graciousness begins to mark your life that draws others to you.
When you enter more deeply into God’s rest and security, the battle of life ceases for you. So let’s first of all consider the hindrance to this life of rest in the Fathers love – man’s efforts.
Man’s Efforts
God provides us with a love-motivation for Christian living that supersedes everything else. We live in a fear-based world that seeks to use control to diminish its insecurities. So often this has colored our Christianity.
You cannot attain a love motivation and a freedom from control by “trying harder.” Freedom comes as you grow in awareness of your control tactics and learn to surrender them to God and then to find motivation in the Fathers love. Step one, develop a deep understanding of these dynamics. Galatians helps to understand this.
- Galatians 1:1 — God sent Paul out, not of man—not of his own effort or according to man’s cunning, scheming, or striving. Paul didn’t go in his own strength.
- Vs.2, 3—Accordingly, Paul went to the Galatians and speaks grace and peace to them. Grace, the free, unmerited gift of God’s love, and the peace that comes from the cessation of our own efforts.
- Verse 4—Jesus gave himself for our sins (the total opposite of man’s effort, living for “number 1”), that He might deliver us from this present evil age. We live in an evil age—full of wars, oppressive dictators, poverty, greed and corruption, using and abusing one another. It’s a world system based in fear and selfishness to get our own needs met in our own strength.
- Verse 6—Paul marveled that the Galatians turned away so quickly from their calling into the grace of Christ, to another gospel.
Paul deeply understood and embraced a Fathers love motivation. Paul lived feeling “at home” in love. Let’s consider what Paul means by “another gospel.”
Legalism (My Efforts)
Paul referred to the Judaizers, who functioned by legalism, when speaking of another gospel. This gospel destroyed the grace of Christ and put living the Christian life on a different basis. A basis of keeping rules like circumcision (Gal.5:1-6). With law (rules) comes control. Under law your acceptance or rejection come based on how well you perform the laws, the rules, for acceptance.
Legalistic “Christianity” and this present evil age function by control. Therefore,
- All major world religions function by laws of acceptance.
- Much of business culture has its own “norms of acceptance,” or ways “deals are struck.”
- Cliques in high school operate the same. Acceptance comes with conditions.
- Even in the mafia, a strict code exists and breaking it brings the consequence of death. Acceptance has conditions.
We live in a present evil age.
Control works by fear and fear flows from self effort, in other words, controlling and using others to get my needs met rather than trusting a loving God to care for me.
Calling
In conclusion, God has called us to live motivated by the Fathers love, to truly walk in love and compassion. Then, we will win the world, not by fear tactics of hell and doom, but by love and acceptance. We’re called to passionate love for God whereby we will gladly lay down our lives. God has called you to the purity of a love motivation.
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