Why be good?
Why are we here?
Why does anyone care about anything at all?
WHAT'S THE POINT?
These are the things people have struggled with understanding since the beginning.
What's the divine plan?
Here's the truth of life, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. We all have the opportunity to choose life. We can choose hope and faith, or we can choose suffering and pain.
Where do we begin?
This is the law. The moral code. The standard of moral conduct. The foundation on which all human conscience stands. It's not situational. It's not cultural. It's not even religious. It's simply human and divine at the same time, it's the spiritual law of love. It's spiritual. God is spirit, and so are we. And that foundational option is rooted in the fear of The Lord and our spiritual connection to God's law.
The truth:
God is love. Life is rooted in God's love. Everlasting life is not possible without God's love.
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Good luck huh?
Love your neighbor?
All the time?
Are you kidding me?
John 15:12 Jesus said, "This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you."
Love like he loved us?
Okay...so what are we talking about?
It's a divine level of conscience. It's a divine understanding of purpose. It's a divine love. It about being filled with love. A love with no room for want. It's all being given. No expectation for a return, but just a hope for pleasing God.
Ephesians 5:2 The Apostle Paul said,
"Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God."
"Filled with love"
So filled up with love (grace) that there's no room for selfishness. No room for condemnation. No room for discretion. No room for discrimination. No room for dependency upon the ways of the world.
Paul went on to say, "You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world." (Ephesians 5:5)
The godly person is so filled up with Christ's love that they haven't got the time or energy to be selfish, or boastful in their false piety.
(See Philippians 2:1-10)
The Apostle Paul said, "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."
This is the life of divine love. It's not something a godless people will do by human nature. It's not something an Antichrist atheistic culture will purport. It's divine love. It's not church, it's the law of love. It's not religion it's the Spirit living inside you and pouring out to everyone around you.
This love was shown to us by Jesus (the rejected cornerstone) when he lowered himself (took the form of a slave), gave up his divine privileges (being in the form of God), humbled himself (emptied himself) in obedience to The Father, and suffered a criminals death for us.
And contrary to what so many spiritual people say from so many different cultures and traditions, The Father (through the resurrection) elevated Jesus to the highest place of honor. And all authority is in his name. He did this because it was his love that overcame death. His love for God and for everyone in the whole world. No other tradition can make this claim. No name equal or above his name. No honor greater than his. No knee unbent before him, not in heaven and not on earth.
This law of love challenges us to conform to Christ’s example of humble, self-giving service.
We know his Grace.
We know he was rich in divine power but chose a servant heart.
And we know that through his chosen poverty he was made great.
Many argue about which came first, from above or below.
I think the Apostle John fixed that truth forever in Chapter One of his gospel of Christ.
"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
Friends,
Jesus loved his creation so much that he gave up his divine right and gave all of himself in the life of a man so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. That's the love he gave and that's the love he said, (he commanded) we are to share with everyone. It wasn't a suggestion. He commanded it because he could. He commanded it because he has that authority. The verifiable testimonies of Jesus' miraculous works reveals his origin in God and authority given by God. And Jesus said the spiritual rebirth cannot be attained without receiving him and the work of his Spirit.
We know this.
We hear it all the time.
Jesus gave it all. Paid all the prices. He made the only way. He guaranteed our salvation in himself.
We know this.
And he COMMANDED that we love as he has loved.
He did that.
Conclusion:
I began this writing by asking "why be good?"
If there is no God, then we are doomed. We're like prisoners condemned to death. Our lives are simply a lifetime death sentence. If there is no God, there is no immorality and no immortality. The consequence of this is that our lives are absurd, hopelessly useless. It means that the life we have is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose. In this environment there is no good reason to be human. Without God there is no restraint from the depths of evil. Without God there is no punishment for evil, no justice. The atheist refuses to come to Christ because he chooses to ignore and reject the calling of God's Spirit on his heart. he loves darkness rather than light and wants nothing to do with god. He believes there is no objective right and wrong, therefore all things are permissible, even evil things.
The same as can be said about the atheist, can be said about the believers who claim Christ's name and yet refuse his command to love one another. Faith without love is dead. It's the same as the mind and heart of an atheist, but it's worse because it takes the Lord's name in vain. It's hypocritical.
As Christians we're tasked with saving the soul; but also the mind, the spirit, and the heart. The cure for all these problems is love for God.
Don't just take my word for it...the law of love commands it.
Jesus said it like this - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, Love your neighbor as yourself."
(Luke 10:27)
Spirituality without love for God is just stereotypical human behavior dressed up in a mask. It's a god (idol) that requires asceticism, and gives nothing of itself. It's grounded in the earth and not in love.
The whole power of love pivots at the cross. Jesus made the perfect sacrifice there. Good and evil rotated together in that device, and death was both inevitable and overcome there. And now we have this execution device standing as our symbol of love. The Lord revealed himself there. Love, life and forgiveness poured out his blood there. And in response the faithful love God and one another.
He is God among us, given in love for us. For all people.