Posted by blue skies on October 23, 1999 at 14:51:48:
In Reply to: your motives? posted by question yourself on June 17, 1999 at 17:44:34:
Very true that Jesus is not our servant, but He
did promise to prepare us a place in heaven,(John 14:2-3)
not because he has to, but because he loves us.
From your subject, I'm guessing that wasn't your
question, but rather you want to know the motive
of the person in believing- if they are just in it
for a ticket to Heaven. Jesus offered us life,
why wouldn't we want to take it? I love Him
because He loved me first. (Kind of like how I
love my mom because she loved me and took care of
me so much.)And because I love Him, I would serve
Him. My goal is to please Jesus, who himself said
"do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
(Luke 10:20) He wants us to have life, but I agree
that we should not follow Him selfishly. Then
again, is that possible? Jesus said that whoever
followed Him would have to "take up your cross and
follow me." The apostles died for preaching the
good news that Jesus told them to preach. If we
truly follow His teachings, we would not be
selfish,because He taught us to love others above
ourselves. I don't know how well/whether that
answers your question, but I hope that it helps.