In and Within 25 Motivation

[HKHaugan]

John 17 gives us a dramatic picture of Jesus at prayer. It is a drama in that we have reality not in contrived scripts and controlled staging but spiritually framed in the actual person of Jesus. He is the drama of life and death being differentiated, of good and evil being given their ultimate definition and of God holding all existence in the balance.

Like an hourglass sifting sand through its narrowest point so Jesus is the picture of God sifting the sands of humanity and all existence through one perfect Person, His Son. Thus every word and action of Jesus becomes the hourglass for the mind getting a hold of meaning and purpose for every next moment, an hourglass for the heart seeking to trust in the midst of unseen uncertainty and an hourglass for the spirit seeking faith for the courage to act. His every principle, every command, every thought will in some way register as the hourglass for the moment a decision has to be made in any area in anything for every one. No one is left out anywhere, any way, or any time. God’s love is that inclusive. His Word is that conclusive and never elusive. His Spirit is that intrusive but never abusive.

The Lord Jesus is the contradiction and reversal of man’s lost condition summed up in Gen.6:5, “…that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Man’s inclination apart from God became his incline, his tilt, which slid downward until he was totally consumed in self and ultimate aloneness. This was the devil’s plan, the complete de-humanization of mankind through the ‘every, only, all’ of sin’s rampage. God’s plan is the re-humanization of mankind through Jesus whose ‘every, only, all’ inclination was and is the will of His Father.

Jesus’ inclination is upward to His Father and his tilt is outward to all mankind, both at the same time. Fallen man is centered inward on self-destruction and Jesus is centered upward on His Father and outward on everyone created in the image of God thus eternal life.

But there has to be a connection that makes who Jesus is what we are meant to be like. That connection is found in motivation. Who gets the glory? Glory is the connecting point. Glory is the essence of accomplishment. It is so basic to what we have been created to experience. It is the substance that builds character, expands the ability of the mind, enables a sensitive heart and energizes a courageous faithful spirit.

However(and this is a ‘biggy’) however, the stumbling block to the true realization of being a fulfilled person is the one thing sin has fueled in us, pride, that villainous spirit of control that would have us think we can live without God. This very inner drive that seems to invigorate our human activity to find our place and make a name for ourselves is the very thing that ends up destroying us. Being number one, rising to the top, making a million, just being ‘successful’, ends like a wisp of smoke and we die not being able to take that ‘success’ with us. Pride is sin’s residence in us. There is no life after pride. “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Gal.6:8 NIV).”

Pride however, can be redeemed if it becomes pride in God as opposed to self. Accomplishment led by God is pride in its intended context, the glory of God which God wants to share. Real success is attained when our aim is to glorify God in all our decisions. It not only brings us into a growing relationship with God but builds our relationships with others. “We live by faith not by sight (2Cor.5:7 NIV).”

John Stott makes this incisive bottom line observation, “Ultimately there are only two controlling ambitions, to which all others may be reduced. One is our own glory, and the other God's. The fourth evangelist set them in irreconcilable opposition to each other, and in doing so disclosed Christ's fundamental quarrel with the Pharisees: 'they loved the glory of men', he wrote, 'more than the glory of God' (John 12:43).”

This is the perfect introduction to Jesus’ prayer that starts, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you (17:1).” It is the central theme when Jesus prays as a person (Mt.11:25, 26:39, 42, Mk.14:36, 15:34, Lk.10:21, 22:17, 42, 23:34, 46, John 6:11, 11:41-42, 12:28, 17:1-26) and when He is teaching us how to pray in Matthew 6. It is how we as persons come before God personally and open our minds, hearts and spirits to His presence. We can ask Him, as Jesus did, to glorify us in order that He gets the glory. In Jesus we see the teaching and the person of glory offering us the same way of response. When we glorify God we reach our potential He planned for us before Creation. He wants to glorify us, share His glory with us and watch us mature in His glory. We’ll continue our walk through John 17 for His glory.