The Preacher’s Job

I had the privilege last week of hearing Bryan Chapell speak on preaching. The whole day was good, but what he said at the end will stay with me for a long time. It’s not new, but he stated it in a clear and compelling way.

There are many motivations for behavior, he said, but there is no greater motivation than love. Only love would motivate a mother to enter a burning building to save her child.

The greatest motivation in the Christian life, therefore, is the love of God. Our problem is that, in the moment, we tend to love other things more than we love God. The best way to deal with these competing loves is with (as Thomas Chalmers would say) the expulsive power of a greater love.

The preacher’s job, therefore, is to excavate the beauty and grace of God so that our hearts are filled up with the power of grace. The pastor’s job is to fill people with love for the Savior. We’re never stronger than when our hearts are full with this love.

Does this make people self-centered? Not really. When you love someone, you love what they love. Their agenda becomes yours. Love for God makes us God-centered, not us-centered.

It’s a simple but profound reminder. I wish I had known this in my early days as a preacher. I’ve sometimes tired of my own preaching when it’s filled with calls for obedience divorced from the motivation and power to live, but I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of talking about the grace and beauty of God, and how we get to live in response.