What Matters Most

What matters most in life? Most people will say that what matters most is something much deeper than material things or temporal accomplishments, but do our actions really reflect this truth? At our small group study last night we explored the idea of “What Matters Most in Life” and the answer was Love.

A fulfilling life is one that is centered around a Love for God that is manifested through the way that we honor Him. We bring honor to our Father by obeying Him and our obedience can be seen through our Love for other people that we encounter along this journey called life. Without love, nothing you say, nothing you know, nothing you believe, nothing you give or accomplish has true eternal value. God looks at the heart of man and if your heart is not motivated by Love, you can fall into the trap of doing the “right” thing for the wrong reason, making your actions of little or no value.

We talked about how:

• Love is a Command not a suggestion or an Option. John 13:34 (Amplified Bible) I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.
• Love is a Choice
• Love is a Conduct 1 John 3:18 (New Living Translation) 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
• Love is a Commitment

Love is a verb…an action word. It is not so much about what you say, what scriptures that you can quote, who is on the contact list in your I-phone, what degrees you have on your wall…etc. It is about how the truth about God’s love for you compels you to love other people. Don’t be like the medical “doctor” who parades around talking about his degrees and his knowledge, but he has never performed a surgery or had “hands on” experience ushering someone back to health. Too many of us are “hands-off” when it comes to interacting with others. That is why hurting people are not being helped in real ways.

We can not Love in a cocoon and we can’t genuinely love in a crowd. We must truly love in the smaller more manageable framework of a community. For it is in that intimate close knit setting that we can be transparent and can focus in on the needs of those around us and we can open our hearts to serve them. We must turn on our “Love Radar”, so that we can detect, identify and apply ourselves to the opportunities to love on others that we encounter throughout the day. Open your ears and listen, open your eyes and see…most people will tell you exactly what they need and how you can demonstrate love toward them.

The other night as my mother left my house she backed out of the drive way and did not turn on her headlights. Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), she couldn’t “see her way” through the darkness. It wasn’t until she turned on her lights that her way became clear. There are people all around you that are walking in the “darkness” of pain, disappointment, neglect, self pity, low-esteem etc. We must turn on the light of Love so that we can see them and so that we can impart that light into their lives.

Will you let your “light” of Love shine today? What really matters most to you…is it all about you…or is it all about Love?

Be Blessed,

B