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The Greatest Aim
Were going to start of today with a little exercise.
What is it that we desire most in our lives is it really time or is it something else.
Today this is what we
will look at and
refer to the bible to discover the greatest need for mankind.
Have you got the answer
Do we have it
all wrong? Is everything the opposite of what it should be? Perhaps it
is. Lets
take a look at what the bible tells us
Love means
living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the
beginning,
his command is this: Live a life of love.
Life is all about love.
Because God is love, the most important
lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving
that we
are most like him, so love is the foundation of every command he has
given us:
"The whole Law can be summed up in this one command: `Love others as
you
love yourself." Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task.
It
runs counter to our self-centered nature. That's why we're given a
lifetime to
learn it. Of course, God wants us to love everyone, but he is Particularly
concerned
that we learn to love others in his family. As we've already seen, this
is the
second purpose for your life. Peter tells us, "Show special love
for
God's people." Paul echoes this sentiment: "When we have the
opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special
attention to those who are in the family of believers."
Why does God insist that we give special love and
attention to other
believers? Why do they get priority in loving? Because God wants his
family to
be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said our love for
each
other-not our doctrinal beliefs-is our greatest witness to the
world. He
said, "Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that
you
are my disciples."
In heaven we will enjoy God's family forever,
but first we have some tough work to do here on earth to prepare
ourselves for
an eternity of loving. God trains us by giving us "family
responsibilities," and the foremost of these is to practice loving each
other.
God wants you to be in regular, close
fellowship with other believers so you can develop the skill of loving.
Love
cannot be learned in isolation. You have to be around
people-irritating,
imperfect, frustrating people. Through fellowship we learn three
important
truths.
THE BEST USE OF LIFE IS LOVE
Love should be your top priority, primary
objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of
your life;
it's the most important part. The Bible says, "Let love be
your
greatest aim."
It's not enough to say, "One of
the things I want in life is to be loving," as if it's in your top ten
list. Relationships must have priority in your life above everything
else. Why?
Life without love is really
worthless. Paul makes this point: "No
matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without
love."
Often we act as if relationships are
something to be squeezed into our schedule. We talk about finding time
for our children or making time for people in our lives. That
gives the
impression that relationships are just a part of our lives along with
many
other tasks. But God says relationships are what life is all about.
Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our
relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationships
with
people. But all ten are about relationships! Later, Jesus summarized
what
matters most to God in two statements: love God and love people. He
said, "You
must love the Lord your God with all your heart....' This is the first
and
greatest commandment. A second is equally important.- `Love your
neighbor as
yourself. 'All the other commandments and all the demands of the
prophets are
based on these two commandments."' After learning to love God
(worship), learning to love others is the second purpose of your life.
Relationships, not achievements or the
acquisition of things, are what matters most in life. So why do we
allow our
relationships to get the short end of the stick? When our schedules
become
overloaded, we start skimming relationally, cutting back on giving the
time,
energy, and attention that loving relationships require. What's most
important
to God is displaced by what's urgent.
Busyness is a great enemy of relationships.
We become preoccupied with making a living, doing our work, paying
bills, and
accomplishing goals as if these tasks are the point of life. They are
not. The
point of life is learning to love-God and people. Life minus love
equals zero.
Love will last forever. Another reason God tells us to make love our top priority
is that it is eternal: "These three things continue forever: faith,
hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.h
Love leaves a legacy. How you treated other
people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is the most enduring impact
you can
leave on earth. As Mother Teresa said, "It's not what you do, but how
much
love you put into it that matters." Love is the secret of a lasting
heritage.
At the bedside of many
people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity,
you
will never hear anyone say, "Bring me my diplomas! I want to look at
them
one more time. Show me my awards, my medals, that gold watch I was
given."
When life on earth is ending, people don't surround themselves with
objects.
What we want around us is people-people we love and have relationships
with.
In our final moments we all
realize that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is
learning that
truth sooner rather than later. Don't wait until you're on your
deathbed to
figure out that nothing matters more.
We will be
evaluated on our love. The third
reason to make learning to love the goal of your life is that it is
what we
will be evaluated on in eternity. One of the ways God measures
spiritual
maturity is by the quality of your relationships. In heaven God won't
say,
"Tell me about your career, your bank account, and your hobbies."
Instead he will review how you treated other people, particularly those
in
need. Jesus said the way to love him is to love his family and care for
their
practical needs: "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of
the
least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'
When you transfer into
eternity, you will leave everything else behind. All you're taking with
you is
your character. That's why the Bible says, "The only thing that
counts
is faith expressing itself through love."
Knowing this, I suggest
that when you wake up every morning, you kneel by your bed, or sit on
the edge
of it, and pray this: "God, whether I get anything else done today, I
want
to make sure that I spend time loving you and loving other
people-because
that's what life is all about. I don't want to waste this day." Why
should
God give you another day if you're going to waste it?
The importance of things
can be measured by how much time we are willing to invest in them. The
more
time you give to something, the more you reveal its importance and
value to
you. If you want to know a person's priorities, just look at how they
use their
time.
Time is your most precious
gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money,
but you
can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving
them a
portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your
life. That
is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
It is not enough just to say relationships are
important; we must prove it by investing
time in them.
Words alone are worthless. "My children, our love should not be
just
words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action."i2 Relationships
take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is "T-I-M-E."
The essence of love is not
what we think or do or provide for others, but how much we give of
ourselves. Men, in particular, often don't understand this. Many
have said
to me, "I don't understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they
need. What more could they want?" They want you! Your eyes, your ears,
your time, your attention, your presence, your focus-your time. Nothing
can
take the place of that.
The most desired gift of love is not diamonds or roses or
chocolate. It is focused attention. Love concentrates so
intently on
another that you forget yourself at that moment. Attention says, "I
value
you enough to give you my most precious asset-my time." Whenever you
give
your time, you are making a sacrifice, and sacrifice is the essence of
love.
Jesus modeled this: `Be full of love for others, following the
example of
Christ who loved you and gave Himself to God as a sacrifice to take
away your
sins."