A Motivating Love ~ By Angie Maldonado

Have you ever pondered the love the Lord lavishes on us?  It's only when His love is active in me that I am able to show real love to others.  His love is a motivating love.  1 John 4:19 tells us, "We love because He first loved us." John 13:34 says, "As I have loved you, so you must also love another." Then 1 John 5:3 goes on to say, "This is love for God: to obey His commands..." His love motivates us to love one another, and our love for Him motivates us to obey His commands.

Jesus also demonstrated this motivating love when He washed the feet of His disciples at the Passover before His crucifixion.  After He washed their feet, He encouraged them to do unto others as He had done for them.  He wanted them to pass on this attitude of servanthood and love.

When you think about your love for your spouse, is it a love that motivates him? This whole thought process began for me when I received a beautiful card from my husband while he was deployed in Iraq. The card reads, "Because of your love I dream bigger, live braver, trust deeper.  I try harder, land softer, breathe easier.  Because of your love I smile wider, laugh louder...and know better what it means to be loved." (No author is provided. I can only give American Greetings credit.) This speaks of a motivating love.  Your love for your man can make him dream big dreams, or it can contribute to squelching his dreams. It can give him a confidence in who he is, or it can make him unsure of himself in his manhood. Your love can generate trust in his relationships, or it can lead him to doubt and worry. Your love can motivate his best or his worst. It can motivate him to joy or sorrow; to love or lack of it.

First Corinthians 13, "the love chapter," can be our guide to a motivating love.  If we want to encourage our husbands in their purpose and dreams, our love is not self-seeking (v.5), it is hopeful and perseveres (v.7.) If we desire a love that motivates our husbands to a good character, we demonstrate our love with kindness, patience, humility (v.4.), and forgiveness (v.5.) If we want to motivate our husbands to trust us and others, our love always trusts (v.7.) and rejoices in the truth (v.6.)

Hebrews 10:24 states, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Verse 25, which follows, tells us that meeting together and encouraging one another in these things is important.  Having a motivating love is something that may require us to "consider how." I can certainly come up with examples of times I've "considered" how to retaliate at my husband. I've also "considered how" I am right and he is wrong. Our time, however, in "considering how," should be spent considering how we can express 1 Corinthians 13 truths.  It also may be helpful to have a friend keep you accountable and encourage you in doing it, as Hebrews 10:25 reminds us.  I have a handful of Godly women friends who share my same desire, to honor our husbands with a motivating love.  I know I can call on them to help and be accountable to them.  And, don't forget that love is a fruit of the Spirit, which means it is the Spirit of God living in us that works out this love we speak of.

Consider first, that God's agape love for you is a motivating love.  He loves us so we can love Him and others. His love is our perfect example. May His love spur on a motivating love through you.

~ Angie Maldonado is a home schooling mom of two girls (ages 4 and 6) and an Army wife.  She and her family currently reside in Fort Benning, Georgia.  Her greatest goal in life is to leave a remarkable spiritual legacy to her two girls and to see them mature with hearts to serve the Lord.  She enjoys crafting, decorating, reading and of course, writing.  Angie has experienced the renovating power of the Lord at work in her marriage, and considers it a great blessing to use what she has learned to help build other women in their faith.  She is working on her first book dedicated to encouraging women to let their lights shine for the Lord Jesus.