The Motions - Matthew West

This might hurt, it's not safe

But I know that I've gotta make a change

I don't care if I break, At least I'll be feeling something

'Cause just okay is not enough Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more day without Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything,instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind

Let Your love make me whole I think I'm finally feeling something

'Cause just okay is not enough Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more daywithout Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions?"

Take me all the way (take me all the way)

Take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)

Take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)

Take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more daywithout Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything,instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions

Take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

Thinking over this song, I realize that my life is all to often like this, everyday is just a script that. I go through. Lines that I recite. More than once I have caught myself going through the motions. Doing everything that is expected of a “good little church girl.” Letting everyone think that I am perfect, that I have no faults. When in reality I am just talking-the-talk.

Living only to please others, not giving my all for Him. Making what they say more important than what He has called me to do. Living this way is so easy, blending in rather than standing out. Letting others determine my course instead of God. Simply going through the motions.

Why? Why, do I live this way? How is it that I have let this happen? How is it that something which was once so real, something that was the center of my life has become nothing more than a weekly ritual? I have gone so far from where I once was. I have become a puppet on a string.

Lord, I want to live this life for you. I was to live with your passion and purpose. No more, I cannot do it any longer the motions are taking their toil on me. This life is all about you. Nothing is more important.

Take me Lord take me all the way,

I am coming back to you. I want to walk-the-walk.

The Decision Is Made But What Will The Answer Be?

Imagine with me, you are walking up the front steps of a courthouse. Down through the long halls until you stop in front of these two huge red oak doors, after listening for a moment you push them both open and walk in to join the others waiting within the doors. What were they waiting for you ask, all these people gathered around you are waiting to see what one persons fate might be.

Perhaps fait may not have been the best choice of words, because what they all really want to see is justice. Everyone is curious to see what will happen to that single person sitting in the front by themselves, the one who has been charged with this crime. But wait they are not alone for long, a man joins them and whispers reassuring words into their ear, that man is their lawyer, the only one who will stand beside them. Why is it he stays you ask, it is because he knows what this person has done but has petitioned the court on his behalf. Suddenly the room falls silent and everyone rises as the judge enters for the second time.

Although we could not see it the judge had been in the back with members of the jury who were reassuring him of the motives behind this person’s actions, and that this person truly deserves death. The court is called to order again and the judge asks the accused to rise and bellows out loud enough for the entire court to hear, “I find this man guilty under the law, but he has been pardoned.” Cheers go up from everywhere in the in the room and at this they turn around to face the crowd, you realize that this person, the accused, is you.

Tragically, not all stories end as this one many are brought into this courtroom and leave in chains. Why is this? It is because they are justified by their actions, they don’t have someone pleading on their behalf. What you do will either condemn you or clear you. On definition of justice that I heard was “someone getting beat up after they did something bad,” my brother shared that wonderful insight with me but he did not really grasp what justice truly is. We don’t realize how it affects our lives everyday. How people watch us and evaluate the things we say and do.

Actually, the reality is that all of us have been in this position, we have all been accused but through Christ’s blood we are no longer condemned under the law. Christ is our lawyer, standing there beside us the whole time. He is continually reassuring us that he has justified us in the sight of the law and even greater in the sight of God. Don’t get me wrong here I am not saying we can do anything and get away with it, there are still laws in place that we must abide by and when they are broken we will be held responsible for our actions and justice will come.

Simply this, Christ came and took all the things that we, that I had done, all those sins which tied me down. I had been convicted and as my brother put it, I was about to get beat up because of what I had done. Justice had been delivered unto me and the final verdict was death. That was until Christ petitioned on my behalf and took the punishment that was rightfully mine, the pain and suffering that I deserved. I am now justified through His outpoured blood. I know what He did and remember it daily, but what about you? Does your heart hurt every time you think of His sacrifice?

Or are you still on death row?