My parents recently asked me "What motivates you?" I love these kinds of questions as it causes me to remember not to be driven by a bunch of righteous acts or worship anything but Christ. Unfortunately, in Christianity and the church today, I'm afraid we fall into worship of a lot of religious practices rather than Jesus Himself. I pray as you read my blog throughout my journey (or even just once), you will be challenged to seek Christ more. So allow me to attempt to explain my motivation to you.
No stories that you read or even simply my decision to participate in the World Race are because I am anything special. I have been begging God for a long time to show me what this "fulfilled" life is that He says He offers and He has revealed it to me. It's Him. He IS the fulfilled life. So if you're striving to "be a good Christian" or struggling because you feel like you're not good enough, stop trying so hard and invest in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't bother with defending Himself when He was falsely accused. He simply spoke truth, loved, served, listened to the Father, was obedient, and bodly and confidently confronted those who contradicted the truth. I am finding such amazing freedom as God has been revealing some of these things to me. I have nothing to worry about. I don't need to justify myself. I'm not responsible for people's responses. I don't need to prove anything. Instead, as I deepen my relationship with God, I will know His voice better and then as He leads, I follow. He's the one who actually does all the work! All I am asked to do is sow seeds. It was ground breaking when He opened my eyes to see that my joy comes in knowing Him and obediently loving, sharing, serving and what not. My joy does not come from my or anyone else's measurement of success. John14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
So, again, if you're struggling and wondering what your purpose is or what God's will is for your life. Let me tell you…It's to know Him and make Him known. If He has revealed Himself to you, it is so that you can in turn spread that revealed truth and him be glorified "among the nations" through that. That can look like a whole lot of different things. Whether you're going to "normal" job every day, whether you've done or are doing the World Race, or whether you're picking up and moving overseas; you are a disciple (a.k.a. missionary) of Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you that makes you capable of every bit of what you read about Jesus doing during His life….if, of course, you've given up your life to Him. Experience the freedom Jesus expresses in Matthew 10:39 when He says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
