Young Adults' Group

The Goal Of Love

by Pastor Mark
October 01, 2020

Entering the last quarter of the year

The first nine months of 2020 has quickly passed us by, and we are entering into the last quarter of the year. We thank God for His keeping as we navigate through this COVID-19 virus crisis.

A great source of teaching and edification for us has been the Word of God. We have been privileged to be diligently taught the Lord’s Word by Pastor Charles through his daily devotions and the online ministry.

It is most timely to candidly ask ourselves, “How has the Word of God impacted our lives?” The Apostle Paul wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy, concerning the false teachers that he had to address. (1 Tim 1:3,4) Their false teachings had resulted in disputes and caused people to stray from the faith. Paul challenged Timothy to consider how the teaching of the true Word of God should impact the lives of the brethren.

The “goal” of the commandment

“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,” (1 Tim 1:5)

The word “purpose” is better understood as “goal”. The Lord gave His commandments with an end goal in mind. It is not meant to be studied just for knowledge and understanding.

The end goal of the Word of God is love. The Lord’s Word should lead us to cultivate love as a principal part of our life and ministry. Love should be our primary focus in life. The Lord Jesus wisely taught this focus on love to the disciples as a vital commandment for them to follow. (John 13:34,35) There should come a greater sense of love for the brethren.

Personally, I am deeply challenged to have this vital goal and focus of love in my study of the Word of God. How did Paul define for us the kind of love that we should cultivate?

1. Love and a pure heart

The Word of God should impact our heart. A pure heart is one that has been thoroughly cleansed by the Lord’s Word. The power of the Scriptures purifies the heart from all our sins, transgressions and iniquities. When we have a cleansed heart, there comes a special love that is pure. Let us be challenged to cultivate a love that comes from a pure heart.

2. Love and a good conscience

The Word of God should also affect our conscience. The conscience is the moral aspect of a person. It is the conscience that discerns what is right and wrong. The commandments of the Lord should produce in us a good conscience that is able to discern what is true or false, good or bad. With a good conscience, we would be able to love with a greater sense of discernment…to love in a true and good manner.

3. Love and a sincere faith

The Word of God should also generate within us a sincere faith. It is through the Lord’s Word that we can grow our faith to become one who is sincere and unhypocritical. It is a genuine faith that produces the kind of love that makes a difference to those around us and to the brethren in church. Maybe we have been lacking the kind of love that we should have in our life and ministry. As we look ahead to the last quarter of the year, let us be challenged to make the cultivation of love our end goal in our study of the Word of God.

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