New People… New Motives
Today is Good Friday. It is the day that Jesus was crucified. The week had started so differently, with the crowds proclaiming “Hosanna” over Jesus. They were declaring that he was the one who would save them. And they were right. But his salvation would come in an unexpected way, through the cross. Thankfully, the cross is only a part of the story; come Sunday, we will see the resurrection. And that will change everything. Why? Because the resurrection means we cannot go on living as we had always done before we were in Christ. It signals not only that eternal hope is possible but also that transformation here and now is possible.
In other words, changed people have new priorities and motivations.
We see this reality reflected all through the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, God set Abraham’s family apart to be a blessing to the nations (Gen. 12:2), and in Psalm 96:3, Israel was instructed to “Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.” Changed people had new priorities. In the New Testament, Jesus talks about giving new and abundant life (Jn. 10:10). Paul reminds us that we are new creations in Jesus, the old has gone, and the new now defines us (2 Cor. 5:17). See, at one time, we might have been motivated to serve others simply to affirm in our minds that we are good people, and in that way, our motivation and love are still very self-centered. But, in Jesus, we are made new, and therefore we have new priorities and new motivations. Being generous because God was generous first is a priority and motivation that is not self-centered but instead overflows from God’s radical love. What a wonderful gift!
There is a warning for us to consider. While we are being made new, we will still struggle with selfishness on this side of heaven. In that, we will continue to be drawn back to our old priorities and motivations. And when we look to anything other than God to fulfill us, we will be disappointed. Tim Keller reminds us of this reality when he says,
“No person, not even the best one can give your soul all it needs…this cosmic disappointment and disillusionment is there in all of life, but we especially feel it in the things in which we set our hopes. When you finally realize this, there are four things you can do: You can blame the things that are disappointing you and try to move on to better ones (that’s the way of continued idolatry and spiritual addiction), you can blame yourself and beat yourself (that’s the way of self-loathing and shame), you can blame the world (that’s how you get hard, cynical, and empty), or you can reorient the entire focus of your life on God.”[1]
Let us be cautioned not to lose sight of the fact that Jesus is reorienting the focus of our lives as we follow him.
We hope that you and your friends and family will join us for our Holy Week Services.
Good Friday Services – 5 pm & 6:30 pm
Easter Sunday Services – 7:30 am, 9 am, and 10:45 am
Click here for all the details: www.ccames.org
[1] Time Kelller, “Counterfeit Gods”