Heaven is great. So thankful for Jesus who secures this. But there’s an even bigger focus for the Christian. It’s heaven, but not in the way of a place like many look at it.
In a works-based faith where your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds, the goal is to go to heaven, not hell. A person works hard to be a good person so that they can go to heaven. But that’s all about self.
Do you want to know the ultimate goal as a follower of Christ?
It is love.
Love of God. For all eternity.
It’s giving worship, honor and glory to God for all the great things he has done to reconciling us back to him.
How do we live that out on earth? We love one another.
In fact, it is the command of Jesus.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another” (1 John 3:11).
There are many more passages. But I want to get to the point.
The point is that in Christ, we are secure in our salvation. In Christ, heaven is our home. So our purpose? It is to love God and love one another.
- To live in righteousness so that others are blessed
- To sacrifice and help those who cannot help themselves
- To take care of one another with gladness and joy
This starts in our families and extends to all people. Even our enemies.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-44).
One of the teachers of the Law was getting close to understand this. He asked Jesus a question (Mt 12:28-34)
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Like the rich young ruler we just read about earlier in this chapter, the teacher of the Law was fixated on the Law. He was focused on keeping the rules, commandments and such to please God.
But even if one keeps every part of the Law, they are still missing it. The law isn’t the goal. Love is the goal.
We have to take a slight pause here as the word “love” has been so violated in our times. Love does not mean a divorce of the truth. It does not mean accept evil behavior just because someone is nice. In fact the first words of Jesus, the apostles and everyone was always “repent.” You can love someone and call them to repentance. It isn’t judging or being “phobic.” It’s truth and love which Jesus lived in perfect balance.
Back to the narrative. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law. He did what we could not do ourselves. That was he kept the law perfectly. He was sinless.
But he didn’t ever teach a message of focusing on the Law. He says he fulfilled it. By doing so he took on our righteousness and gave us his.
What did that free us to do?
Love.
When we are not focused on law and trying to make it to heaven, we become free to love. Paul says it clearly (Galatians 5:13-15):
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Love is the goal post.
With the Law, you can say, “I kept it.”
But with love, there is no end. You can never ever reach the end of loving someone. And heaven is about loving God forever. And loving one another forever.
That’s what eternity is about.
God loving us.
And us loving him.