Living in Increase (Part 3) - Increase in PurposeSample

Called To Love

Your purpose is to love God and His people. 1 John 4:16 states, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.” The greatest command is to love God with your heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). There is no scenario where you find a calling from God devoid of love. This means that love always pushes you toward an expected outcome. If you have doubts about what you should do next, you can be sure that God wants you to increase in love. The more you learn about the character of God, the more deeply your understanding of love grows.

The Apostle Paul beautifully expresses the significance of love in our Christian journey in 1 Corinthians chapter 13:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Nothing you do matters if it isn’t rooted in love. You have been called to love God and people.

Ruby Washington

Action Step: Think about what it means to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Write a paragraph about what this means, breaking down each way we are to love God. Write another paragraph explaining how this love for God helps us to love ourselves and others.