THE END OF THE COMMANDMENT = THE GREATEST OF THESE

 

  THE END OF THE COMMANDMENT = THE GREATEST OF THESE

 The desire to serve the Lord and live for Jesus can burn like a fire in our heart, but the gate is narrow and the way is straight, yet it is so simple we can quickly miss the way. Jesus is the Way, but let us specifically look at what His goal for our service actually is. Does He actually need anything from us? Of course not, but He does want us to follow in His footsteps as His beloved children. Always remember - it is always and only achieved by His grace through faith in Him. For each of us, it is an unending struggle.

“Now the end of the commandment is charity/love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere).” 1 Timothy 1:5

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels…and if I have all faith…and if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NAS

“And one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ and Jesus answered hi, ‘The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord:  and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all you strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to Him, ‘Well, Master, You have said the truth: for there is one God, and there is none other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered discretely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God...’” Mark 12:28-34

 Often, after coming to Christ and being birthed into His glorious Kingdom, we are overwhelmed with the wonder and glory of His Majesty, the beauty of the Lord, and the joy of His salvation. At such point we are ready to do anything for Him out of the amazing liberty, thankfulness and love we discover. Quickly we take on the desire to share Him with others and to help people find their way in Him to take up their cross and follow Him. 

 Next down the line, we may become deeply involved in church life, fellowship, and service of different kinds. On top of that He challenges us in our day to day walk with Him to serve Him in every aspect which is a most reasonable prospect. Being devoutly godly is a proper objective.

 In all earnestness we become determined to be a good "Christian", and to lead a good, godly, and hopefully holy life, yet without becoming religious or self-righteous. Duty is the name and the earnest desire of our endeavors. But something can go wrong. "Unto the church of Ephesus write: These things, says He that holds the seven stars in His right hand, Who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you cannot bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars: and have borne, and had patience, and for My name's sake have labored, and have not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent and do the first works..." Revelation 2:1-5 (I do not want to finish the rest of Jesus' warning because I want to focus on the problem and snare we can easily fall into. You can or should read the rest yourself). We miss the purpose of Christ by focusing on the right and the wrong, instead of flowing in the very heart and reason for the duties. The end result is that we can become self-righteous, ungracious, and unloving.

  After more than 40 years of following Jesus, having made many careless, presumptuous, and hurtful mistakes (not only to me, but more so to others). I have come to the conclusion that out of all the acts of faith and obedience, what God our most Wonderful Heavenly Father is looking for is LOVE in our lives. His love in us and especially demonstrated through us. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, after naming all kinds of spiritual demonstrations and heroic acts, says "but if I do not have love, I am nothing...and...it profits me nothing."  "GOD IS LOVE!!!" (1 John 4:7-8). From Him, and through Who He IS, flows all goodness, truth, and righteousness. These are fruits of His love - His very nature. We can get stumbled by trying to imitate these attributes instead of simply allowing His love to flow out of us, wherein all these fruits will be natural byproducts of His Holy Spirit working through us.

  On the other hand, all sin is a byproduct of selfishness, and as long as we live selfish or proud lives, we will unceasingly struggle with the same old sins (though in the flesh they will always be there). Notice how sin entered the world when Satan tempted Eve by appealing to her selfish motives. Then Cain killed Able also out of prideful selfish motives. From then on we all partook of the same sinful behavior = our lives are all about us and what we want.

Again, notice in Matthew 25:31-46 how the Lord will judge us when His sits on His throne in judgment. He will not be judging us by how spiritual we are, or how often we pray, read our Bible, or go to church, nor even by how often or how loudly we proclaim that we love Him. Instead it will be by how we demonstrated His love by genuinely caring for the plight of our fellow man! IF ALL OUR WORKS FOR GOD ARE NOT DONE IN AND OUT OF LOVE FOR HIM AND OTHERS, HOW DIFFERENT ARE WE FROM ANY OTHER SINNER!? How has His salvation change us!? How does our claim to know God and to walk with Him prove us to be true!? 

LOVE IS NOT - Please understand that love is not just a mushy feeling, complete sympathy, all embracing emotion, but it is doing what is right for the other, and God, whether the feelings are there or not. Furthermore, God's love does separate the sin from the sinner that the sinner may be spared from the judgement to come. Sinful behavior is always looking for an ally or at least a refuge to hide behind to escape exposure or confrontation. Do not allow your love to do that to anyone. There are times when you say nothing to protect the person(s), and that may be love at work, but never to hold them in their sin. We need Jesus to help us and guide us in every decision of faith and love.

  My most dear and beloved friends, God our Heavenly Father wants us to walk in truth, and Jesus Who is the Truth, demonstrated it by living and walking in a life of LOVE. Let us keep it simple, take up our cross, and follow in HIS footsteps. You and I are called to follow Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior by living a life of faith unto LOVE. He is always there with us. Let us not miss the mark, and let love be the end of our commandment. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only BEGOTTEN SON... I have been crucified with Christ; nevertheless I  live yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the SON OF GOD, Who loves me, and gave Himself for me....Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." John 3:16, Galatians 2:20, 1 John 4:11

THE ZEAL OF FAITH IS GOOD AND WONDERFUL but a life of genuine LOVE of CHRIST will be its CROWN!