Go Beyond

My new friend Dacques Nini in El Salvador.

One of the things I enjoy most about what I do is having the opportunity to meet and to serve alongside so many people who love Jesus. Last month, I had the privilege of serving with a team that drilled a water well in El Salvador. Our team demonstrated God’s love to the people of the poor village of San Lucas by drilling a water well and also by making meaningful personal connections with the people. We spent time in homes and also interacted with people at the drilling site. I was inspired by how our team loved and cared for the people of San Lucas. It was clear that our team members were compelled by love to serve people they had not previously met.

Motivation matters, especially when it comes to serving God. Paul left no doubt about his motivation for ministry. It was “Christ’s love” that compelled him to serve (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This may be understood to mean “Christ’s love for Paul” or “Paul’s love for Christ.” Although Greek grammar permits either interpretation, Christ loved Paul first — which explains why Paul loved Christ. The word “compels” means to constrain or to hold fast a person to a course of action. Christ’s love was at the core of Paul’s motivation for ministry. Christ had demonstrated His love for Paul by dying for him. Paul demonstrated his love for Christ by living for Him. The magnitude of Christ’s love left Paul with no choice but to live for the One who had died for him. In light of Christ’s death for all, we have no right to live selfishly. Every follower of Christ should abandon their old and selfish ways. We must no longer live for ourselves or to please ourselves. Instead we should die to ourselves and live for Christ.

Christ’s love also compelled Paul to share the love of Christ with all who did not know Him. Paul saw himself as someone under obligation or in debt to those who did not know Christ (Rom. 1:15). He felt that because he knew and had experienced the love of Christ, he owed Christ to everyone who did not know him. Christ’s love compelled him “to evangelize where Christ has not been named” (Rom. 15:20) and to “plead on Christ’s behalf” that others would “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). Like Paul, every Christ follower is under obligation to share Christ’s love with those who do not know Him. The greatest crime we can commit against others is to withhold the message of Christ from them. We owe Christ to all people. Christ’s love is the greatest motivation for serving Him, demonstrating His love through practical acts of kindness, and sharing His story with others. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of San Lucas with new friends who are motivated by Christ’s love to serve others.