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Highly Motivated
Highly Motivated
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” ~Tommy Lasorda
We are all faced with different tasks we must do. These range from work, to our personal pursuits, to family, to community and beyond. Many of these tasks are manageable and some are even enjoyable, but sometimes something comes up which seems so daunting that it feels like we cannot do it. At these times, temptation pulls us toward the option of giving up. After all, as the hit TV show Mythbusters always stated, “Failure is always an option.” Many will choose the option of not doing something because it is too hard, they are just not motivated enough to do it, or they do not fully understand what the outcome will be if they do fail.
Spiritually, being aware of what the outcome will be to our actions is vital for us living a life avoiding sin. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus goes into how drastic it may be for us avoiding temptation when He says:
“If your right eye causses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30)
It takes a desperate action to cut off a hand or to pluck an eye out. To handicap oneself, especially in the society of Jesus’ day, would be unthinkable. Jesus is trying to illustrate how serious the situation truly is, though. In Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus brings up yet another drastic claim to the cruciality of following Him:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Again, it takes desperate action to cut off not only family, but the closest family members. Is heaven really so good? Is that life with God truly that awesome? The answer is yes, and it only takes looking at Jesus and His determination to see that anything we do in this life, if it brings us closer to God, is worth it.
Matthew records in Matthew 26:39 the words of Jesus saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus’ humanity is in full view as the temptation is before Him to simply give up, and not do what He needed to do. For the sake of you and I going to heaven, He was willing to do more than just cut off a hand or pluck out an eye, but to lay down His very life. The anxiety shows in the words written by Luke how “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) Did Satan whisper those all-to-familiar words in His ear wanting Him to question whether it was worth finishing?
Jesus tells His disciples what is going to happen to Him multiple times. He had every opportunity to avoid the trouble. The love He has for us keeps Him moving forward. It keeps Him silent in His trials. It kept Him dealing with the unbelief all around Him. It kept Him on the cross and not call down twelve legions of angels as He finally cried out with a loud voice and breathed His last.
There should be nothing more important than doing whatever it is necessary to both do and know the will of God. We should be determined to study, worship with one another, and to avoid the temptations of sinful desires of the world.
Lance Byers
April 19, 2025
- Highly_Motivated_04-19-2025.pdf (33.16 kB)
