THE END OF THE JOURNEY IS LOVE

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command… This is my command: Love each other.” – John 15:12-14, 17.

It must be important if Jesus repeated it three times. Jesus frequently discussed love. He emphasized loving God and one’s neighbor as the two greatest commandments. He also spoke about loving one another. In the Christian life, a believer aims for love. That’s the goal.

The journey of Jesus from the manger to the grave was a journey of love. We read the life of Jesus and are amazed at what He did, at what He said, at how He relayed the truth of God and the Kingdom of God. We sit back and study the scriptures to see what will happen in the future. We try to figure out God’s will for our lives. We go over it and over it again and here is the simple truth: Loving God means loving others.

Matthew 22:35-40 shows God’s greatest two commandments for our lives are to love. Love is our highest purpose. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The ability to love is a crucial element of an apprentice’s spiritual growth because it reflects a transformed heart and a deeper relationship with God. Developing love is not just a matter of feeling but also of actively choosing to serve others and demonstrating Christlike qualities in our actions.

So, if you are a real estate agent and love as a real estate agent,  you have fulfilled your God-given purpose. If you are a nurse and use your work to love, you have fulfilled your God-given purpose. If you are a musician and use your music to love others, you have fulfilled your God-given purpose. And, if you are retired and use your spare time to serve meals to the homeless, and it’s done in love, you have fulfilled God’s greatest purpose for your life.  Love is the goal.

We miss the point when we focus on what we do as our purpose. It’s not about what we do as much as it is about how we do what we do. Do we do it in love? All things must be rooted in love to be rooted in God. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says:  “If I could speak all languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had a gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor, and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

Following Jesus is a life of love.

Discussion Questions:                                      

1. What does it mean to love God? How can we practically express our love for God in our daily lives? 
2. What does it mean to love one another? How does this love manifest in our interactions with family, friends, and even strangers? 
3. How does the concept of “God is love” impact our understanding of love in general?