The Purposeful Love

Have you ever thought about the purpose of someone’s love? When a couple is married they purpose to love one another through any circumstance of life until one of them dies. When a child is born, parents purpose to love that child’s so that their needs will be met and they will know care and encouragement. Whether you realize it or not, there is a purpose to every ounce of love you extend to someone else.

Jesus’ love was a purposeful love. He loved for a couple of reasons. He loved God and others to bring glory to God. That is, to declare how good God is. He tells us this in John 17:1. He also purposed His love to serve others. In Mark 10:45 Jesus says that He did not come to Earth to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

As we follow Jesus’ example let us think about these purposes of love. Again, they are to bring glory to God and to serve others. As you think about the love you share with others, are those your purposes? Are there other purposes to your love?

There are times when we love others to make ourselves feel good. There are times we love others to get what we want. There are times we love others so others will think highly of us. As you think about your relationships you will see that there have times like this in your life. These self-centered attitudes can easily creep into our hearts and destroy something that started with great intentions. When this happens, your love has not been centered on God or others. It has been centered on you. Even when it appeared you were serving someone else, your love was purposed on your self.

How do we overcome this selfishness? First, be aware of it. What are your motives for showing love to that other person? Second, don’t ask what you are going to get out of sharing your love. Look for the benefits of others and don’t worry about how you’ll be promoted, recognized, thanked or loved in return. Finally, seek God’s help. Our hearts are evil. They are centered upon self. We need the working of Christ in our lives to make us outwardly focused on God and others.

There is a purpose to your love. Be willing to explore the purpose of your love so that your love may be pure.