Honesty, when many of us first accepted Christ it was because we feared hell AND we were being drawn by His love & goodness.  There was the promise of forgiveness, a clean conscience, acceptance, destiny, significance, and escaping a very nasty place called Hell.

It’s the simple incentive method.    Pain and gain!  Reward or retribution.

Don’t feel bad about that.  God created us this way, so He appeals to this part of our nature.  He ENJOYS rewarding people… He LOVES people! What Father wouldn’t enjoy seeing His children do well?

As we grow & mature in Christ, & our love for Him develops, we become less occupied with the “principle of success” & the reaping of our sowing.  We become more in LOVE & want to serve & bless.  You grow in the revelation that “He is a REWARDER of those that diligently seek HIM.”  He becomes our passion, our goal, our success, & our reward!  Even if I still had to go to hell I would still love, obey & serve Him!

Nonetheless, it seems in scripture that God appeals to our simpler nature to gain an entrance into our lives so He can teach us the meaning of it:  To give it away!

kc