What matters most

What matters most
By Rick Warren

“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.” (2 John 1:6, NCV)

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.” (Galatians 5:14, LB)

Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. 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.

Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers?

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 belief – 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.” (John 13:35, LB)

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.

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

Point to ponder: Life is all about love – especially for those in God’s family.

Verse: “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.” (2 John 1:6, NCV)

What will you do about it: Practice being loving. Find a way to secretly serve someone in your church today. Don’t tell anyone about it except God.

Prayer: Ask God to help you make relationships your first priority.