Thursday, April 27, 2017
One thing old people are known for is that they tell the same old stories over and over again. That being said, if I have bored you before with this goofy joke, please forgive me: Two men were fishing in a boat under a bridge. One looked up and saw a funeral procession starting across the bridge. He stood up, took off his cap, and bowed his head. When the procession had crossed the bridge, the man put on his cap, picked up his rod and reel, and continued fishing. After a few moments of silence, the other guy said, "Wow, that was touching. I didn't know you had it in you." The first man responded, "Well, I guess it was the right thing to do, after all, I was married to her for 40 years."
Although today’s goofy story is probably stretching the point just a bit, the reason I am using it today is to focus on the many people we know that claim to live by the "do-the-right-thing" motto. On the surface, it would appear that living our lives by that principle must be pretty good, and I suppose that could be the case in many situations. On the other hand, there is a much better reason for doing things. I am referring to love. There is no greater motivational factor than love. Paul wrote: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died.” (2 Corinthians 5:14) Can you see that the best inner driving force when it comes to serving God and others is the love of Christ in our hearts?
Suppose a man one day decides to buy his wife a dozen roses and take her out to a romantic dinner. When she asks "why are you doing this?" he replies "I just thought it was the right thing to do." Would it not have been better if he would have said "I did it because I love you"? Of all the reasons for doing things, love is the best. In fact, the greatest thing that ever happened to this world (Christ) was motivated by the greatest love of all. (God’s) Lets let the love of God lead us. Now, that, is the right thing to do! Done any great things lately?
God’s word for today: (Ephesians 5:2 NLT) “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
