Why?

[aiki]

Why do you do what you do as a Christian? What fundamentally motivates your behaviour as a Christian? Please be honest (if you can) and personal. Don't tell me what some commentary says should be your motive for living the Christian life, or what some particular popular Christian author suggests it should be. Tell me why you read and study the Bible, pray, attend church, minister to others, etc. I expect some of you may want to give answers like: "The Bible is my spiritual food, so I feast upon it daily." Or, "Prayer is my means of communication with God, so I pray." But these answers don't really address the question I'm asking, which is: Why does it matter to you that the Bible is your spiritual food? Why do you care if you communicate with God or not? What is your base motive for entering into the Christian life at all? What is motivating you to continue as a Christian?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Peace to you.

P.S. - I'm not looking to make a point here; I'm just curious.

[Tony Merritt]

Why do you do what you do as a Christian? What fundamentally motivates your behaviour as a Christian? Please be honest (if you can) and personal. Don't tell me what some commentary says should be your motive for living the Christian life, or what some particular popular Christian author suggests it should be. Tell me why you read and study the Bible, pray, attend church, minister to others, etc. I expect some of you may want to give answers like: "The Bible is my spiritual food, so I feast upon it daily." Or, "Prayer is my means of communication with God, so I pray." But these answers don't really address the question I'm asking, which is: Why does it matter to you that the Bible is your spiritual food? Why do you care if you communicate with God or not? What is your base motive for entering into the Christian life at all? What is motivating you to continue as a Christian?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Peace to you.

P.S. - I'm not looking to make a point here; I'm just curious.
Hello aiki. I do what I do for God....simply becaues I love him. Just as with my wife,I want to get even closer. To have fellowship. The more I read and pray...the more fellowship we can have. Fellowship means closeness. And being close brings special times. I do not serve him to receive any special treatment. But I do thank him for his blessings. So with me,I do what I do,because...I love him.


Tony M

[Canuckmom]

What motivated me to seek Christ was the fear of God's wrath. But when I became a Christian, I saw how great the Triune God was, and thus worthy of my all adoration and worship. Isaac Watts says it so well in his hymn Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed

"Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man the creature's sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears;
Dissolve, my heart, in thankfulness!
And melt, mine eyes, to tears!

[eldermike]

My fundamental motivation comes from my world view, that was true as a lost person and Christian. I think people tend to operate based upon beliefs.

It's not perfect, I believe a thing and sometimes do another thing. But I see it as failure based upon my world view. Paul said this very same thing in different words.

[aiki]

Tony:

Hello aiki. I do what I do for God....simply becaues I love him. Just as with my wife,I want to get even closer. To have fellowship. The more I read and pray...the more fellowship we can have. Fellowship means closeness. And being close brings special times. I do not serve him to receive any special treatment. But I do thank him for his blessings. So with me,I do what I do,because...I love him.

Why do you love God? Why do you want fellowship, or closeness with Him? To what degree are the motivations for loving your wife the same motivations you have for loving God?

Would you serve God if there was nothing good, no blessings at all, that came to you as a result of having done so?

Canuckmom:

But when I became a Christian, I saw how great the Triune God was, and thus worthy of my all adoration and worship.

God is worthy of all your adoration and worship. Do you give Him all of your adoration and worship? If you do, is this worship its own end?

Thanks very much for the replies!

Peace to you.

[MsScarlett]

Because it's truly the best way to live. If we all seriously followed Jesus' teachings, the world would be a better place, so I have to do my part.

[JuJube]

Because it's truly the best way to live. If we all seriously followed Jesus' teachings, the world would be a better place, so I have to do my part.
AMEN!!! 8 years ago when I put my faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life, my thoughts, my hearts desires, my attitude changed. Complete turn around. (think that's what we called repenting, right) Didn't have to strive with TRYING to be good anymore, I just wanted to be. I truely did become a new creature. I knew it, my husband knew it, and everyone around me at work knew it. My behavior changed because I was changed within. I do the things I do because I have an insatiable need to please God and walk right with Him, and to learn more about Him in His word. As far as minisrty in missions goes...whereever the Lord says to go...I will go. Whatever the Lord says to do, I will do, according to His will and His way.

[aiki]

Because it's truly the best way to live. If we all seriously followed Jesus' teachings, the world would be a better place, so I have to do my part.

So, you're saying that your motive for following Christ has to do with creating a better social/cultural environment? I'm sure that's not all, right?

8 years ago when I put my faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life, my thoughts, my hearts desires, my attitude changed. Complete turn around.

Am I right in saying that, although all these things have changed, you're still seeking personal fulfillment as a Christian just as you were as a non-Christian? Is this your fundamental motive for following Christ?

Peace to you.

[Allegory]

I do it all for the nookie.

[prgallo]

OK, I took this to mean that as a Christian why do I decide to live my life, day by day a certain way. This reply doesn't address why did I become a Christian, but how I walk the Christian walk.

Each day I trust that the Holy Spirit in sanctifying me, and Jesus Christ as my life and strength will change my heart and desires to be His.

So I live my life trusting totally in Him that His will is my will and that He has put likes/dislikes and made changes to me.

So I don't try to guess how I should act or determine from scripture how to deal with life, or how to spend my time, or how to talk to people. This means I don't ask what would Jesus do, he's already told me. When He wants me to know more He will continue to change my heart and mind.

I trust that He has not only created me but that His will for me is written on my heart and mind and then I live my life based on that trust in Him.

In Romans (6 I think) it says, "how much more are we saved by His life." This is what I think the is referring to.

[PrincetonGuy]

I live my life as a Christian because that is what I desire to do. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and my Savior, He gave me a desire to live for Him.

[MsScarlett]

Ack! Having trouble quoting...

[MsScarlett]

So, you're saying that your motive for following Christ has to do with creating a better social/cultural environment? I'm sure that's not all, right?

Why wouldn't that be all? I repeat, it is the best way to live. He was the greatest teacher, and I will continue to follow.

[daveleau]

I have a drive inside me to study the Word. I feel compelled to read it. I can tell how my happiness seems to dwindle when I am not in the Word, and how it is immediately changed when I am in the Word. I feel it is my purpose in life to learn about God, and I feel it important to pass on what I know.

In Him,
Dave

[JuJube]

So, you're saying that your motive for following Christ has to do with creating a better social/cultural environment? I'm sure that's not all, right?



Am I right in saying that, although all these things have changed, you're still seeking personal fulfillment as a Christian just as you were as a non-Christian? Is this your fundamental motive for following Christ?

Peace to you.
Not seeking personal fulfillment, but spiritual fulfillment. I tried finding "personal fulfillment" and it wasn't fulfilling. Now I am truely satisfied from within, and my desires for the eternal things that will not fade are what I seek. Like Dave in the above post put it...I am compelled to serve God. It's nothing that is of my own, but what God has put in me, and that is because I am sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and that is what compells me.

[rainbowpromises]

I think I can be brutally honest with myself. I will just start typing and see where it takes me.

I have always been motivated by charts and timetables. Since becoming a mother I have struggled with timetables because children don't fit into my timetable. But I can still live by charts.

So by charts I read the Bible. To me it is a personal accomplishment. It could be any other book but since I gave my life to the Lord, I have found that I just have less and less interest in other books. Oh I can read a chapter but then I grow bored at going back to them. Even the Left Behind Series began to bore me.
By chart I can also memorize Bible verses. It is another accomplishment and I like to compete against myself and always do one better than before.

With this information filling my life, I can live it. It truly is a case of what you feed your body is what comes back out.

The one thing I cannot do by chart is pray. Prayer is more a timetable thing, so I struggle with it.

As for why I am here to begin with, it is the adoption factor. I have a Father now. I grew up with an empty father slot and a barely there mother. Accepting Christ was all about accepting love, learning to trust and learning joy from the inside out. Sure I doubt at times but it seems every time I doubt something happens to show me that I can be sure again. I have had the strangest people sent into my life to strengthen me. Even people from other belief systems have come along and said something that sends me right back to Christ. More than once JWs have been instrumental in keeping me from sin. More often I think back to my childhood and realize that God had a hand in keeping me safe all those years. So many times I was in compromising situations, not always of my own making, yet I lived. It makes me wish I could get through to my brothers. They should be dead as well, but God has kept them safe. Why?

To me these are the greater questions in my life:

Why did I survive my childhood physically and emotionally?

What did God have in store for me?

How does he plan to use me?

I need to stay ready for his use.

[HappyChicken]

I do what I do because I want to live as Christ-like as I can. I am recently saved and have been going through MAJOR LIFE CHANGES. It feels soo good, so good to be free from the constricting lifestyle I had. I still have setbacks...I'm not perfect.

[daniel777]

why do i want to do it? because seeing myself become more and more like him brings me pleasure. knowing him brings me pleasure. pleasing him brings me pleasure.

[MoNiCa4316]

Why do you do what you do as a Christian? What fundamentally motivates your behaviour as a Christian? Please be honest (if you can) and personal. Don't tell me what some commentary says should be your motive for living the Christian life, or what some particular popular Christian author suggests it should be. Tell me why you read and study the Bible, pray, attend church, minister to others, etc. I expect some of you may want to give answers like: "The Bible is my spiritual food, so I feast upon it daily." Or, "Prayer is my means of communication with God, so I pray." But these answers don't really address the question I'm asking, which is: Why does it matter to you that the Bible is your spiritual food? Why do you care if you communicate with God or not? What is your base motive for entering into the Christian life at all? What is motivating you to continue as a Christian?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Peace to you.

P.S. - I'm not looking to make a point here; I'm just curious.

:wave: Thanks for your question. I first became a Christian simply because I felt convinced that it is the truth...over time I grew closer to God and He began changing me on the inside. But what really motivates me, what really makes Christianity valuable, is that when I worship God I see how great He is..and I just want to be nearer to Him. This is kinda difficult to describe... I've experienced some of His love and I feel convinced that there's nothing better in the world. Jesus Himself makes Christianity valuable. It's not what I get out of it or even the effects it has on me that is my motivation...I just want to be closer to this Person who is so lovely beyond words. It's just love..it's that simple..that's what motivates us as Christians. Because of His love, we want to serve Him, obey, love others, pray, worship, read the Bible, etc.

Hope that helps :) please let me know if anything is unclear.

peace

monica

[TexasSky]

Why do you do what you do as a Christian? What fundamentally motivates your behaviour as a Christian? Please be honest (if you can) and personal. Don't tell me what some commentary says should be your motive for living the Christian life, or what some particular popular Christian author suggests it should be. Tell me why you read and study the Bible, pray, attend church, minister to others, etc. I expect some of you may want to give answers like: "The Bible is my spiritual food, so I feast upon it daily." Or, "Prayer is my means of communication with God, so I pray." But these answers don't really address the question I'm asking, which is: Why does it matter to you that the Bible is your spiritual food? Why do you care if you communicate with God or not? What is your base motive for entering into the Christian life at all? What is motivating you to continue as a Christian?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Peace to you.

P.S. - I'm not looking to make a point here; I'm just curious.
Love.

I feel Christ's love, and I feel love for Christ that is just as strong and just as real as the love I feel for my children.

Because of that love, I have trust.
Because of that love and that trust, I talk to Him about everything - which is really what prayer is.

Because of that love and that trust, I try to learn from Him, and the best way to do that is to study what He taught, and to study what the great prophets and the disciples learned at His feet. So I read my bible.

I've found that prayer and bible reading give me peace when nothing else will. I've received miracles from God in my life. I've recieved yes answers to prayers that seemed impossible, and no's that I eventually understood why He said no at that time.

I have a real relationship with Christ, and that is why I do what I do as a Christian.

And when I turn away from Him, and begin to distance myself from Him, I miss Him, and I feel the loss.

[aiki]

why do i want to do it? because seeing myself become more and more like him brings me pleasure. knowing him brings me pleasure. pleasing him brings me pleasure.I didn't think there'd be anyone who'd say this! Have you been reading John Piper?

Not seeking personal fulfillment, but spiritual fulfillment. I tried finding "personal fulfillment" and it wasn't fulfilling. Now I am truely satisfied from within, and my desires for the eternal things that will not fade are what I seek. Like Dave in the above post put it...I am compelled to serve God. It's nothing that is of my own, but what God has put in me, and that is because I am sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and that is what compells me.I'm a little confused about some of what you've said here. You make a distinction between spiritual fulfillment and personal fulfillment but say that you're "truly satisfied from within." This sounds like a personal thing to me. I mean you are the one who is satisfied, right? It may be by spiritual means that you arrive at this fulfillment, but this doesn't mean that you aren't still personally fulfilled.

I wonder too about the idea that you are compelled, like a computer by its programming, to live as a child of God. Is this the kind of compulsion you're talking about? Are you some kind of spiritual puppet? This prompts me to ask what you'd do if you weren't compelled... Are you living for God under duress?

But what really motivates me, what really makes Christianity valuable, is that when I worship God I see how great He is..and I just want to be nearer to Him. This is kinda difficult to describe... I've experienced some of His love and I feel convinced that there's nothing better in the world. Jesus Himself makes Christianity valuable. It's not what I get out of it or even the effects it has on me that is my motivation...I just want to be closer to this Person who is so lovely beyond words.Ummm...aren't you contradicting yourself here? YOu say you're motivation for following Christ has nothing to do with getting something out of doing so, but then you say that it is the love you feel and being in the company of one who is "lovely beyond words" that provokes you to walk with him. Is the love you feel for Christ a pleasant, satisfying thing? It sounds like it is. You write that there is "nothing better," which is the sort of thing one says when describing something particularly gratifying, like excellent music, or a really good bit of chocolate.

What did God have in store for me?

How does he plan to use me?

I need to stay ready for his use.Why do you want to be ready for His use?

Why wouldn't that be all? I repeat, it is the best way to live. He was the greatest teacher, and I will continue to follow. Its just that no where in the Bible (at least as far as I know) is this suggested as a reason for following Christ.

What do you mean by the "best way to live"? Are you referring to the level of satisfaction, joy, peace, etc. you experience living as a Christian?

Thank you all for your posts! Very interesting to see how each of you is thinking about this matter.

Peace to you.