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A Driving Force

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.  1 Corinthians 13:3

The other day as I was driving, I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed a police car right behind me.  My heart beat a little faster, and I started a mental check.   Is my seat-belt on?  Check.  Am I speeding?  Nope.  I made sure when I was turning that I used my signal.  I wasn't on my cell phone.  I didn't even let my mind wander.  While the police car was behind me, I made sure driving had my total concentration because I did not want a ticket.  The driving force behind my actions that day was the fear of a ticket.  Friends, as followers of God our “driving force” behind the things we do must always be love.  God is way more concerned with the reasons why; than what.  In I Corinthians 13, it is very clear that we can do the right things for the wrong reasons. He wants our actions to resonate with our love for him.  We can memorize the Bible, pray, do things for other people, but if our motivation is anything other than love; it is worthless.  I pray that as we go through our day, we will let our love for God be our motivation, the driving force behind our actions.  God searches the heart.  He is looking for our love and devotion.  He wants nothing less than that.

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