Faith and Love

Recently, as I was reading a Christian Commentary, the commentator said that the only motives God accepts in us are faith and love. We know that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.¹.” And we know that “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love².” Still, knowing or doing is different from our motive.

A motive is the underlying reason for any action. Proverbs 16:2 (NIV) says, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.”

What does the Bible say about motives? (2014, December 15). GotQuestions.Org. https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-motives.html

Do you remember what Jesus said to the church in Ephesus? In the Book of Revelation, Jesus told this church that they should repent because they had “abandoned the love you had at first³.” For God, it is never enough for us to do something; He always looks at our motives.

In about 56 A.D., the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about completing what they had promised to do regarding giving money to help the church in Jerusalem. In this letter, he says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver⁴.”

At Corinth, each Christian was to give by his or her motive to help the Christians in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit, through Paul, did not want the Corinthians to give because of peer pressure or pressure from their church leaders.

Of all the aspects of our life in Jesus, perhaps the most difficult is keeping our motives pure in faith and love. It is so much easier to just go with the flow, do what others are doing, and show up when we are told to, but that’s not what Jesus wants from us. For Him, it is always a matter of the heart; He asks why.

Without faith, we cannot please God, and without love, we are just “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal⁵.” Still, it takes effort to overcome our will, to eliminate our human motives, to live by faith and love. Nevertheless, the only motives God accepts in us are faith and love.

Footnotes

1. Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 11:6 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011%3A6&version=ESV ↩︎
2. Bible Gateway passage: 1 John 4:8 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204%3A8&version=ESV ↩︎
3. Revelation 2:4 – To the Church in Ephesus. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/revelation/2-4.htm ↩︎
4. 2 Corinthians 9:7 – God Loves a Cheerful Giver. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/9-7.htm ↩︎
5. Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013%3A1&version=ESV ↩︎