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| January 3, 2015 |
There's a little saying that is on mugs and shirts and printed over pictures. It's a mantra that people love because it encourages them to do what they love. At first I didn't really give it a second thought. It keeps showing up and I need to set the record straight.
Here's the thing...Doing what we love is the thing that got us into trouble.
Living for ourselves is what the Gospel saves us from. Sure, we love a lot of good things. Quite often, the problem isn't in the doing, but in the motivation behind it. When we decide to make our lives about doing what we love, we give little thought to God.
We love this mantra because it puts us at the center. That's the problem.
Jesus Christ came that we might see the glory of God and be changed by it. Becoming a Christian means we are called to begin living in pursuit of knowing it and making it known. John 17 has become one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because it gives my life perspective.
In John 17: 3-4 Jesus Christ said, "And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do."
He saved us so that we could know God and join Him in doing what God loves. It's who we are.
I turned this into a printable
Good word, Victoria.
ReplyDeleteso, so true! reminds me of Romans 1 and loving the created things instead of the Creator.
ReplyDeletei love john 17 because it is jesus praying....FOR US! how cool. ;) thanks for the great reminders.
ReplyDeleteReminds of what I was reading to you from Thomas Brooks: What is the first, the second, the third part of a Christian? I must answer, Action; as that man that reads that he may know, and that labours to know that he may do, will have two heavens - a heaven of joy, peace, and comfort on earth, and a heaven of glory and happiness after death. ...I recommend thee 'to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build thee up, and to give thee an inheritance among them which are sanctified' (Acts 20. 32).
ReplyDeleteAmen to this!
ReplyDeleteI knew I would love this post when it popped up in my feed last Friday, but then we went away for the weekend, and I didn't get a chance to read it until now. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've thought the same thing about that quote (which, you're right, is EVERYWHERE right now.) It's not a bad concept, but kind of a self-serving mentality. It's so much more important to do whatever you're doing IN love…to do it with a good attitude, and in a way that glorifies God. Thanks for sharing this!!
Girl. Seriously. So much truth here. You're so right - "do what you love" does reflect our culture's mindset about how everything revolves about us. But "do what God loves"... oh, yes. So true. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that doing what we loved is what got us into trouble in the first place. :) And while I would never use "do what you love" as my motto, I do think finding pleasure in what God created for our delight (creative pursuits or taking a walk through the woods, for instance), is something we should do more of, if we can strive to do it with pure motives. Which, I think is what you are getting after when you say, "do what God loves".
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