What will keep us serving the Lord in our church and community when the going gets tough? Although we may be sensitive to the needs of others, that alone isn’t enough. Nor should we be driven by a need that we have—a desire to be appreciated or loved by others. Our needs are deep, and only God can satisfy them. The more we try to satisfy them with anything else—even God’s work—the more dissatisfied we will become.

Even love for God’s people, His sheep, won’t keep us going. People can be unlovable and insufferable. We may come to resent them.

No, the only sufficient incentive for service is our love for the Lord, and it’s the love of Christ that compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14). No other motivation will do. In My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers wrote, “If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and brokenhearted, . . . but if our motive is to love God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellowmen.”

In one of His last conversations with Peter, Jesus asked him, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter answered, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17).

Are you motivated by love for Christ?