Most of us find gospel outreach difficult and so giving some thought to motivation is vital. After all, if we don’t want to then we won’t! It seems to me that there are three primary motivations that Scripture commends to us:
1. The glory of God. When the apostle Paul went sight-seeing in Athens, his heart did not sour at the sight of the Acropolis and Parthenon. Rather ‘he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols’ (Acts 17:16). He could not bear to see the one Creator God so dishonoured! Such shameless blasphemy was too much and so he ‘reasoned in the synagogue… and in the market place’ with those who were there.
2. Compassion for the lost. When Jesus Christ saw the crowds, ‘he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.’ (Mark 6:34). His heart went out to them and he was therefore moved to “teach” them. He had the message of life and was thrilled to share it.
3. Our own joy! The apostle Paul describes the Thessalonian converts as his ‘glory and joy’ (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). This didn’t mean that he reached out to them for his own benefit (!) but rather that there was nothing that could bring as much joy as being used of the Lord to help save sinners.
We can’t self-motivate because it comes from the heart, but we can ask for the Spirit of Jesus to fan into flame that smouldering wick.
Simon