During these last few weeks, we have studied different practices that are guaranteed to make us grow as servants of our Father. Growth is important in all aspects of life. In nature, if something is not growing, it is dying or perhaps stagnant. In our careers, if we are not growing, we become stuck, unsatisfied, grow weary and become stagnant. In our spiritual lives this concept is no different. If we are not growing in spiritual things, we start to die. We cannot become complacent with our standings to God. We must always strive to grow.

Another factor to good, guaranteed spiritual growth is love. Love in our lives is the path to God. John tells us that God is love. (1 John 4:8 , 16) When John said this, he was not giving merely an attribute of God’s character. It is not that God merely loves, but God IS love. Everything that true love entails, God possesses it! He is Love just as much as love itself is love. Therefore, if we are to be servants of this God, which is Love, we must also grow in the characteristics of true love.

The first thing that we need to realize when speaking about love is that the love that we need to grow in is not emotional in character. Although important, emotional love is only a motivator to perform true love. In 1 Corinthians chapter three, Paul gives us some attributes of godly, true love. He says, “Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeks not its own, is not provoked, takes not account of evil; rejoices not in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endureth all things. Love never fails.” (1 Cor 13:4-8 )

You see how that love has qualities, and is not just an emotion that we feel. Love is the actions of those qualities. And when we grow in the performance of those qualities, we grow in love. Not only do we grow in love, we grow closer to God and His characteristics. Let us look at some examples of this fact.

When confronted and asked to give the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt 22:36-40 )

Here Jesus gave an absolute truth to the greatest of commandments. The debate of the time was that some believed that the commands dealing with the sacrifices were the most important; some felt that the commands dealing with purification were the most important, while others felt that the commands dealing with feasts were the most important. There were over 600 commands for them to choose from and debate about, and those that confronted Jesus asked this question to try to expose Jesus’ lack of wisdom. This, of course, was to no avail!

Jesus gave a wise answer, because he understood what true love is really all about. If you truly love God, you will also keep all the commands of God. Love is respectful, and if you respect God, you will respect His word. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 ) John, again, says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3 )

This is how that growing in love is a guaranteed way of growing spiritually and closer to God. If you have not been respectful to the word of God, and have been worshiping or serving Him the way that you see fit rather than His way, I plead with you to repent of this sin of disrespect and lack of true love. Turn your life around and serve the all mighty God of Heaven, before it is too late, and be obedient to His gospel by washing away your sins in baptism, calling on name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16 )