What makes you get out of the bed in the morning? What gives you the strength to consistently exercise? What keeps you plugging away at work? What enables you to keep going, even when you don't want to?

Essentially, what I am asking is:

What's your engine?

Everybody has an engine. It's the thing that drives everything else they do. For some people, it's the engine of recognition. Whatever they do, whether it's in their workplace, their social life, or their home - they are doing for recognition and fame. They work overtime to get the boss to notice so the boss will give them a raise so they can make more money so they can have more friends that they can invite over to their house to swim in the pool they just bought with the raise. On and on it goes. They thrive on the attention and recognition of people.

Others are driven by the engine of money. They work endless hours, sacrificing time away from their families so they can get a few extra bucks to put away for the latest trend. They analyze every penny coming and going and can never enjoy a cent of it because of their obsession. They believe they can find security, happiness, and contentment in their finances and devote their lives to padding their bank accounts.

Some are driven by sex. Each day is another day in which they can pursue every fantasy that pops into their heads. They go through partner after partner, website after website, attempting to satiate their bottomless appetite for sex. Sometimes they are even driven to addiction by this ravenous lust.

What are you driven by? Maybe it isn't something as seemingly sinful as lust or human recognition. Maybe you're driven by family. Family is a wonderful gift from God - but just like everything else God has given us, we can sinfully twist it into an idol. Maybe every single thing you do is for them, to the demise of your spiritual life. Or you could be driven by success - whether it be in the academic realm or the workforce.

People are driven by all kinds of things, but these engines cannot sustain for very long. Eventually, they all fall short of true fulfillment. There is only one engine that can sustain a person for life and that is Jesus Christ.

One of my classes this semester is a class on the Gospel of Mark. We are very early in the class (only a few class periods in, actually) but already it has had a profound impact on my spiritual life. Right now we are studying the historical background of the Gospels and one of the books we are reading is Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity by Paul Barnett.

In that book, he calls Jesus the, "engine that drives the narrative" of the New Testament. Our professor took that remark a step further and exhorted us to make the reality of the supernatural Christ the engine that drives our spiritual lives.

What a challenge. Is Christ the engine that drives your spiritual life? What is your motivation for walking the Christian walk? Fame? Recognition? Finances? Fire insurance? Freedom from guilty feelings? Are you a Christian because you love Christ, or are you a Christian because of what you can get out of it?

My challenge for you today is to make Christ the engine that drives your life.

Not just your spiritual life, but your whole life. Let Him be the reason you wake up, the reason you go to work, the reason you read the Bible to your kids each night, the reason you study, the reason you work, the reason you do all that you do, whatever that may be.

The Jesus we encounter in the Bible is a Jesus that defies the imagination. He was (and is) a person of mysterious power and incredible insight. He was the Word became flesh, the God-man, the fulfillment of all that Israel had desperately longed for, and the only hope the Gentiles would ever have of eternal life.

That same Jesus is alive and well today, exalted at the right hand of the Father. And if you call Him Savior, He is living and moving and active in your life today. Open your heart to His Lordship and submit your life to His leadership. Make Christ the reason you do all that you do.

Make him the engine that drives your life and do all to His glory! I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians:

I Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." [ESV]

If you have comments, questions, or you would just like to chat, leave a comment below or contact me on Facebook or Twitter. I would love to hear from you! And don't forget to hit the subscribe button below - you'll receive more Word-based encouragement delivered right to your inbox!

- Caleb