The End Goal

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  -John 13:34-35

Last week, we established that love is an action not a feeling. So, what does this verse mean if we know that love is an action and not just a feeling? I believe it means we are to do something. We are to act on behalf of others. In the same way that we act on behalf of ourselves, we are to act on behalf of others as well. When we are thirsty, we act and get ourselves something to drink. When we are hungry, we act and get ourselves something to eat. When we have a need, we act and fill that need on our own behalf. What Jesus is telling us here is that we are to also act on behalf of others when they have a need and fill that need for them when it is within our power to do so. 

“Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” -Hebrews 13:16

It is easy to get sucked into the worldly values we are immersed in all day every day. The values that tell us to look out for number one. The values that try and convince us that we must be the most important person in our lives. The values that tell us that everything is about us. The values that tell us that we are entitled things because we worked hard for them, and if other people want what we have, they should work hard too. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should work hard. I just believe that we should work hard as if we are working for the Lord and not man. The world believes we should work hard as if we are working for ourselves. There is a difference. 

So, what does working hard for the Lord look like? It looks like Hebrews 13:16. Working hard for the Lord is understanding that God created it all and that God controls it all. It is acknowledging that He gives good gifts and that everything we have is His. It is being thankful for the gifts He gives us. It is understanding that He gives to us so that we can give to others. We work hard for the Lord because we understand how hard He worked for us first. He gave everything He had for us, including His one and only Son. Jesus gave His life for us; we owe Him everything we have because of it. 

Every time we share with others we are pleasing God and thanking Jesus. When we serve others, we are sacrificing a piece of ourselves on their behalf. We are modeling what Jesus did for us on the cross (on a much smaller scale of course). We are giving of ourselves and expecting nothing in return. We are acting, which means we are loving. We are fulfilling Jesus’ command to love one another, and we are showing others who He is and what He is about. Serving is what makes us true disciples, and isn’t that the goal of all who believe?