What Matters Most

"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

Life is all about love. Because God is love, the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. Love is the foundation of every command he has given us and 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-centerd nature. God wants us to love everyone, but He is particularly concerned that we learn to love others in his family. And there's a reason why He insist that we give special love and attention to other believers, and that is because God wans his family to be known for its love more than anything else.

God says, love should be our 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 is not enough to say "One of the things i want in life is to be loving," as if it's in your top 10 list. Relationships must have priority in your love above everything else. Why?

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. it gives an impression as if 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 r/s to God while the other six deal with our r/s with ppl. But all ten are about relationships!

Relationships, not achievements or the acquisition of things, are what matters most in life. When our schedules are 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 if great enemy of relationships. We become preoccupied with making a living, 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.

Another reason God tells us to make love our top priority is that it is eternal: Love will last forever. "These three things continue forever: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love"

Love leaves a legacy. How you treated other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is the most enduring impact you can leave on earth. 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.

The 3rd reason to make learning to love the goal of your life is that it is what we will be evaluated on in eternity. 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. 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".

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.

Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set of 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's why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.

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 to provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves. Men, in particular, often don't understand this. Many will say " 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... Nothing can take the place of that.

Whenever you give your time, you re 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."
You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Love means giving up -- yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy or time for the benefit of someone else.

Circumstances change. People die, Children grow up. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. Knowing that one day you will stand before God, here are some qns that should be considered: How will you explain those times when projects or things were more important to you than people? Who do you need to start spending more time with? What do you need to cut out of your schedule to make that possible?

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