Christmas! Everything's starting to sing out "Christmas is coming!" From Christmas dramatic performances to Christmas dances to Christmas parties... all that's missing now is the Christmas snow!
I just returned from a Christmas party tonight, where being a Canadian made me the minority! With about 10 Chinese and 5 East Indians, there were only 3 of us Canadians. It's so fascinating to see different cultures coming together, expressing their own ways but eagerly befriending those of other races. I want to understand more of where people come from and how it has molded them into who they are. How am I different because of my Canadian upbringing and my English & Scottish heritage? There is so much to learn in life, but I suppose this week I should start with the material that will be on my exams. Thankfully, though, life is not stale and focussed. It is an intertwining of lives and loves, which presents the challenges but also the deepest joys.
Here's a message for today. It may look long, but believe me, I found it hard yet good (and that's a deep good) to hear.
I was reading something today that really challenged me. It's K.P. Yohannan's book, Living in the Light of Eternity. In it, the founder of Gospel for Asia asks if we are living horizontal or vertical lives, a concept A.W. Tozer referred to in his book The Root of Righteousness. The basic idea of horizontal and vertical motivation is that the former means we are spurred on by self-centred desires, even when doing good deeds, while the latter means, in the words of E. Stanley Jones (in Victory through Surrender): "If I belong to Christ, life belongs to me." In other words, a vertically-motivated person's "only concern is to be His -- to be approved by Him, to please Him, to belong to Him. All that you are and do must be centred around Him and His purposes" (Yohannan, 55).
K.P. writes about the legalism which comes from horizontal motivation, saying, "People motivated by the love of God... cannot do enough for the Lord because they love Him so much. When you lose that vertical motivation, you are doing things for the Lord because you have to" (59). He asked some missionaries, "If your entire allowance were gone, if your benefits disappeared, if next month you would not earn even a penny -- would you still come here? If you had no money even to ride a bus to the office, would you walk here and serve the Lord anyway?" (60).
He also commented on how "self-pity, bitterness and discouragement have nothing to do with genuine vertical motivation" (60).
Next, and this one struck me especially hard, K.P. declared that "a person not motivated by love for the Lord will experience jealousy over others' blessings and the desire for honor and position. He may want to be noticed by others, looking for opportunities to tell them what he has done. He may be dissatisfied with second place. Or he may secretly expect appreciation or approval. When our hearts are not motivated by love, our relationships with others are strained" (61). On the other hand, though, "It is a sign of true godliness to desire nothing but the Lord himself" (62).
Regarding pride, the fourth sign of horizontal motivation, K.P. declares, "When we work as a team, as a church, as a fellowship, we must remember that the Body of Christ is made up not of superhuman entities but of weak, broken-legged, half-blind, bruised, hurting, sinning and repenting people. And it seems to me from this story (the lost son) that God has more compassion for them than for the "superstars"" (62). I must remember that I, too am one of the least of these weak, repenting people.
Lack of love is another sign of horizontal motivation, but using the story of Ruth as an example, K.P. says that "Love made it possible for her to leave everything" (64).
Quitting is another temptation, but "I can do everything through him who gives me strength," exclaimed one of the most persecuted, it seems, apostles (Phil. 4:13).
Referring to an unwillingness to suffer, K.P. quotes C.S. Lewis from his book, The Four Loves: "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be borken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." K.P. concludes this point by saying, "Jesus' motivation was pure love for His Father... And the love that was in His heart included suffering. If it had not, we would not have a Redeemer" (65).
"Real heart-to heart communication with (our) father" is another thing that's absent in horizontal motivation (65). "What keeps us going in feast and famine is the kind of relationship wih the Lord that only prayer can bring" (66).
"And this is the final sign: unwillingness to live by faith" (66).
There's hope, though. I needed to realize my present state of horizontal motivation before I could truly appreciate genuine motivation. All it really comes down to is relationship between God and us each individually. "Horizontally motivated persons can be involved vigorously in the work of the Lord. They can also be demanding and judgmental. They may express intense concern about the moral condition of society or become zealous for world evangelism. But when the internal relationship is ogne, only a shadow of that reality remains.
Repentence is the first step. Referring to Jesus' words to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:2-5, K.P. remarks, "There is a fascinating paradox in this passage. First Jesus is positive: "You are doing many good things." Then He says, "Repent and do the same things."" (68). The point is that doing is not enough, though it is important; it needs to be done out of love.
The next step is to surrender, to pray "I'm fighting, struggling, and striving. I'm always hurting and in pain. I'm always complaining that something is wrong. I want rest" (69). Then, "Once you surrender your life completely to the Lord, no matter what happens from then on, you have something to fall back on. It is all in God's hands" (70).
According to K.P., "There is no more important factor in living a victorious life -- one filled with motivation and strength that come from beyond ourselves -- than being filled with the Holy Spirit" (70).
"The key to living with right motivation" is to "Do everything "as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23, KJV)" (70). K.P. suggests taking up the habit, through practicing it for 21 days straight, of whatever we are doing, saying "I am doing it for the Lord. I am doing it for the Lord" (70).
Finally, we're meant to think about heaven. It's not meant to become our motivation, as I know it once was mine and didn't get me very far, but "we will find joy in thinking about heaven as we serve our heavenly Father in love" (71). K.P. concludes the chapter with the words, "Think about heaven. In everything you have to deal with each day, think, This is not the end. There is much more. This is only a short time that I am walking through. The Lord has promised us through His Word that the end will be far better than the beginning. Do not lose heart. Take Him at His Word!" (72).
I pray that this challenged and encouraged you as much as it did me, to live genuinely motivated lives for the Lord! And in this we need accountability and cheering on from one another, so let's join together in this.
