Video: Motivated by Love

Day 7: Choose Love

Motivation is everything. In the parable of the two sons, the younger brother was love motivated, returning home because he knew his father was kind and would feed him, even as a servant. But the older brother’s transactional heart was motivated by law, working to earn what was already his.

Jesus chose us and continues choosing us, regardless of whether we will choose him back. That is love motivation. God does not make us love him back, but he does what is good anyway.

As a disciple, we should do good things, such as pray, read the Bible, gather with our brothers and sisters, tithe, and care for others—not out of a legalistic expectation of behavior, but out of response of love for God. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We talk to God because he has given everything to talk to us. We are faithful to read the Bible because God has been faithful throughout human history to write down the things he wants us to know about him. We pray for the sick and go to those who are oppressed because Jesus left the glory above to make the Kingdom tangible in our midst, and we want everyone around us to experience the goodness of life in the Kingdom too. Because we see the good that Jesus did and are thankful for it, we do the same.

And so our role as disciplemakers is not to tie people up to law‐bound behaviors as described in Galatians 3:1-5. Instead, we are to help them discover the depths of God’s love and a life of responding to his voice. This is the deep work of redeeming the heart, where increasing freedom and security with God creates an overflow we share with other people. Only love is a motivation strong enough for us to endure on a dangerous journey potentially full of trials and heartache. Only love motivation brings life as 1 John 3:14 reminds us.

Disciplemaker Pro Tip

Sometimes you may need to help the disciple take baby steps of faith toward something good when they don’t trust it. You may need to help them let go of defensiveness or self‐protection and choose to be vulnerable and share their heart. Whether you are guiding them to move away from destructive things or toward good things, you can disciple someone to seek Jesus and his Kingdom in all parts of their life.

Did this Plan encourage you?

We adapted this Plan from Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wired Our Brain for the Adventure of Transformation learn more at https://ordinarydiscipleship.com