When”Love’s Why” becomes the reason for all the deciding factor in our life — (be it the job to take, or the education choice to pursue, or the hard path of life to embark on), I know that we won’t only speak about love, but we’ll actually become love.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vqg-RsfKuQA?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparentPost, Message and Music by the Husband
After 1 year as an intern and 1 year as a resident doctor, I was getting desperate to know.
My heart was crying out, “What do you want me to do, Lord?”
There were a myriad of options within Medicine. Even though I had pretty much excluded the idea of doing surgery because I hated the smell of blood and guts, and yeah, standing around for hours, I still found it so hard to choose a specialty because I pretty much loved doing every other thing.
For instance, I loved Internal Medicine because it was so brainy, Emergency Medicine because it was so happening, Paediatrics because I loved kids, ICU because of all the cool procedures with different sized needles, Palliative Care because it had such a compassionate philosophy, Cardiology because I loved the idea of being able to open up an artery and save someone’s life, and Psychiatry because it was so holistic.
I had my thinking hat on and went through a lot of the usual logical processes to short-list the options.
But beyond the logic, I felt the Lord leading me to distill my reasonings down to one all encompassing question.
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)
I don’t know about you, but I have never given everything away.
I’ve given some of what I have, but certainly not all of it. I’ve also never delivered up my body to the flames. Bringing my wife a cup of water late in the night is already considered a sort of sacrifice.
Yet the bible teaches that even if I did these extremely sacrificial things, but have not love, then I would gain… well, nothing.
That’s a lot to give up for nothing.
It means that practically anything I can do – whether great or small, no matter how wonderful it may seem on the outside – if it is not motivated by love, then it’s a completely pointless exercise.
As if that were not enough, the bible teaches that even if I prophesy or move mountains with faith – but I have not love, then not only do I gain nothing, I AM nothing.
Think about that. What does it mean to be nothing?This passage hits me hard. Right in the chest!The Lord was speaking. He helped me see that the foundation of my career needed to be grounded in love.I had to choose a career because I loved God, and I loved people. I did not want to choose based on money, life-style, prestige or whatever other reasons that could drive me. I needed to know that it was God’s will. And if it WAS God’s will, then it had to be driven by love. Because God is love.So my decision needed to be driven by God.Driven by Love.Motivated by God.Motivated by Love.And I’ll never forget to this day. Sitting in a car after spending perhaps 3 hours worshipping the Lord at our church camp.It was almost an audible voice.It was like the sGod had specifically for me was beating hard several times.And I just knew – it was the Lord confirming that was what He would have me do.I finally heard the Lord. I wanted to obey Him. I wanted to do whatever He wanted because I loved Him.I pray now that love will continue to be the motivating factor in my career. And I also pray that the Lord would speak to your hearts as you read this – to challenge you to love, and to make love the all-encompassing factor in everything you decide to do.