The past week or two I have been quite aware of the reason that we do even the most mundane things - the motive, the drive behind it. Regardless of whether it's a spiritual discipline like fasting or agreeing to do something for someone at the office, motive is something that we cannot get away from, whether we acknowledge it or not. But the illustration presented below much better explains it.
One of the best illustrations of the difference between Religion and the
Gospel comes from Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) :
Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. He took
it to his king and said, "My lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever
grown or ever will grow; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token
of my love and respect for you." The king was touched and discerned the
man's heart, so as he turned to go, the king said, "Wait! You are clearly a
good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want
to give it to you freely as a gift, so you can garden it all." The gardener
was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing.
There was a nobleman at the king's court who overheard all this, and he
said, "My! If that is what you get for a carrot, what if you gave the king
something better?" The next day the nobleman came before the king, and he
was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, "My lord, I
breed horses, and this is the greatest horse I've ever bred or ever will;
therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect
for you." But the king discerned his heart and said, "Thank you," and took
the horse and simply dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed, so the king
said, "Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were
giving yourself the horse."
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