OUR MOTIVES IN WHY WE SEEK THE LORD

May 9, 2026

4/27/26 OUR MOTIVES IN WHY WE SEEK THE LORD

Today I was thinking about God knocking on the doors of the church. Will you let Me in? If so why and how much? I was thinking about why we have our devotions with Him every day. I run to Him because I yearn for Him and I need Him. Yes it is passion. He is My Source of life. Here are the things that came to me as I pondered His process of how He draws His people into passion.

THREE MAIN MOTIVES IN SEEKING GOD:

The desire to be religious

To find Him out of ritual and routine.
To be reverent, without expectation from a personal God.
To learn obedience.
To be self righteous and/or in good standing.
An obligation to sacrifice

The desire to be His servant

To serve Him out of duty and obligation.
A steadfastness to do what is right
To be faithful
To learn character
To desire to please Him
To believe His Word is true

The desire to be a friend of God

To expect a 2-way reciprocation
To work in partnership with Him
To serve Him out of desire
To desire to be close with Him
To have passion for what He desires

I thought of examples in these stages of growth and one was Joseph’s life in prison. First he was obligated to follow the prison rules. Then He graduated to be a servant within the prison and finally he was promoted to partnering with the king in saving many people alive.

Moses too was a good example of the 3 stages. He was raised in the palace of protocol and regulation. He served his father-in-law Jethro out in the wilderness. Finally as God’s friend he partnered with God to bring Isael out of bondage.

Last when I thought of these progressive stages in one’s relationship with the Lord, I remembered Tevye in the Jewish movie Fiddler on the Roof. As he watched his daughters grow up one by one to get married, it stirred him to consider his own marriage. In a duet with his wife Golde, he asks his wife, Do you love me? In her mind, she is thinking ofcourse I love you, I am your wife. It was a matter of principle, that is what wives do.

Another time Tevye asks, Do you love me? This time she says, ofcourse I love you, for 25 years I have cooked your meals and cleaned your house. She is perfecting serving her husband, loyal and faithful to do what is expected of her. Finally Tevye asks his wife, But do you LOVE me? Teyve sees the passion of his daughters, the way they look at their beloveds and willing to follow them anywhere. Tevye longs for that kind of love!

Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love.

Mark 12:28-30 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.