"She's driven to win the Grand Slam." "He's driven to succeed at his firm." "They're driven to get the best grades possible." Ever notice how often we use the word driven to talk about highly motivated people? We use the word driven to mean that someone has an intrinsic motivation to rocket to the top--whether that's the top of their profession, the top of their sport, or the top of their class. When we say someone is driven, it is usually implied that they are working full out to achieve the best. And for those who are driven, often the success follows--the gold medal, the promotion, the A. And yet, what if we flipped that concept on its head? What if, instead of being driven by ourselves to achieve for ourselves, we were driven by someone else, to succeed for someone else?
This is exactly the kind of motivation that Jesus had when he walked the earth. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his death AND BEYOND, Jesus was driven by his desire to save someone. But it wasn't himself--it was you and me. Jesus saw us in our darkest time and our greatest need. He was so moved by love for us, that he was driven to live a perfect life and die an innocent death to win eternity in heaven for us. And that was while we were still his enemies! This is completely the opposite of human thinking and motivation, centered on me.
Now, because Jesus was driven to live and give for you and me, we too can be driven to serve others. Our theme for this year reflects that: Grace Given, Grace Driven. Once we have faith in Jesus as our Savior, our whole focus changes. Sure, we still have goals for ourselves, but we are also driven by the desire to reach out to others. We cheer the success of our teammates on the field. We celebrate the high marks that our classmate received on a project. We congratulate the coworker who received the promotion. But moreover, we are driven to show our love for them by the way we treat them, each and every day. We reflect a Christ-like love and concern for their needs, physical, mental and spiritual. This school year, let's strive to be DRIVEN!
This is exactly the kind of motivation that Jesus had when he walked the earth. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his death AND BEYOND, Jesus was driven by his desire to save someone. But it wasn't himself--it was you and me. Jesus saw us in our darkest time and our greatest need. He was so moved by love for us, that he was driven to live a perfect life and die an innocent death to win eternity in heaven for us. And that was while we were still his enemies! This is completely the opposite of human thinking and motivation, centered on me.
Now, because Jesus was driven to live and give for you and me, we too can be driven to serve others. Our theme for this year reflects that: Grace Given, Grace Driven. Once we have faith in Jesus as our Savior, our whole focus changes. Sure, we still have goals for ourselves, but we are also driven by the desire to reach out to others. We cheer the success of our teammates on the field. We celebrate the high marks that our classmate received on a project. We congratulate the coworker who received the promotion. But moreover, we are driven to show our love for them by the way we treat them, each and every day. We reflect a Christ-like love and concern for their needs, physical, mental and spiritual. This school year, let's strive to be DRIVEN!