The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6
Let’s be honest about why we follow Jesus. Some of us follow out of guilt, trying to pay back a debt we know we can never repay. Others follow out of fear, worried about what might happen if we don’t. Still others follow out of duty, believing it’s just what good people do.
But Jesus never meant for following Him to be a guilt trip. He doesn’t need guilty servants trying to earn their way into His good graces. He’s not looking for fearful followers who serve Him out of obligation. He’s inviting us into something far more beautiful than religious duty.
Think about it – when Jesus called His first disciples, He didn’t guilt them into following. He didn’t remind Peter of his sins or lecture Matthew about his corrupt tax collecting. He simply invited them to follow, offering them a relationship and a purpose bigger than themselves.
Sometimes we follow Jesus like we’re paying off a spiritual mortgage. We calculate our church attendance, measure our Bible reading, counting the tithes we’ve given, and track our good deeds like monthly payments on a debt. But grace means the debt is already paid. Jesus isn’t looking for repayment; He’s looking for relationship.
Look at how people followed Jesus in the Gospels. Zacchaeus didn’t follow out of guilt – he followed out of joy after experiencing Jesus’s acceptance. The woman at the well didn’t follow out of duty – she followed because she’d found someone who knew her completely and loved her anyway. Now, you may not be in the Bible. But you can experience the same joy they did today.
Jesus’s invitation to follow comes after grace, not before it. We don’t follow to earn His love; we follow because we’ve already received it. We don’t follow to become worthy; we follow because He’s made us worthy. The order matters – it’s always His love first, our following second.
Following from gratitude looks completely different than following from guilt. When we follow from guilt, we’re always looking over our shoulder, wondering if we’ve done enough. When we follow from gratitude, we’re looking ahead to Jesus, eager to be wherever He is. Following Jesus isn’t forced on us.
Sometimes the hardest thing to surrender isn’t our actions but our motivations. It’s easier to change what we do than why we do it. We might surrender our time, our money, even our plans – but still cling to following Jesus for the wrong reasons. The beautiful truth is that we’re already loved, already accepted, already His. True surrender means letting go of our need to earn what we already have, our attempts to avoid punishment we’ll never face, and our desire to impress a Father who already delights in us. Again, you are already loved!
The motivation behind our following affects everything. Following from fear makes us rigid and rule-focused. Following from duty makes us tired and resentful. But following from love makes us flexible, joyful, and resilient. Love-motivated following can endure what duty-driven following cannot.
St. Augustine, an early church father, understood this when he said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is acting from love and not from fear of punishment.” Augustine wasn’t just making a nice statement – he was speaking from experience. As someone who had lived both ways, he knew the difference between following Jesus out of fear and following Him out of love. When we truly grasp what it means to be “in Christ,” our motivation shifts from avoiding punishment to pursuing love.
Ever notice how Jesus dealt with people’s motivations? He often turned away those who came with the wrong motives – the rich young ruler wanting to earn eternal life, the crowds wanting more miracles, the religious leaders seeking status. But He welcomed those who simply wanted Him.
We can actually enjoy following Jesus. Not because it’s always easy – it isn’t. Not because we always understand where He’s leading – we don’t. But because we’re following Someone who loves us perfectly, knows us completely, and has our best interests at heart. That’s motivation for ya!
The right response to Jesus’s love isn’t trying harder – it’s trusting deeper. When we truly understand His grace, we don’t follow Jesus to earn His approval; we follow because we already have it. This frees us from the exhausting cycle of religious performance. Instead of asking “Have I done enough?” we can ask “How can I stay close to the One who’s done it all?” This transforms following from a burden into a response of love. Did I mention that we’re alread loved?
Godseekers, check your motivation for following Jesus today. Are you following out of guilt, fear, or duty? Or are you following because His love has captured your heart? The invitation remains the same – “Follow Me” – but the journey changes dramatically depending on why we follow.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, forgive us for following You with wrong motives. Free us from guilt-driven, fear-based following. Help us to follow You simply because we love You and trust Your love for us. Renew our joy in following You. In Your name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- What has been your primary motivation for following Jesus?
- How might your following look different if it came purely from love and gratitude?
Step of Faith
Today, I will identify one area where I’ve been following out of guilt or duty, and ask God to help me follow from love instead.
