Love is the key

Read 1 John 3

“We know that we have passed from death to life,

 because we love our brothers.

 Anyone who does not love

 remains in death. 

Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, 

and you know that no murderer has eternal life in Him. 

This is how you know what love is;

 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

 If anyone has material possessions 

and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, 

how can the love of God be in him?

                                                                              1 John 3:14-17

Love is the key to being a Christian. Love of God, Love of our fellow man.
It is interesting that quite often when the Scriptures want us to show love they tell us about how Jesus laid down his life and that we should be willing to do so.
It’s also interesting that the other thing that is referred to when it comes to love is giving of our money and possessions.
I think that it’s because next to our life it’s our money that we value the most. We are for obvious reasons reluctant to give up our lives unnecessarily.
We see money as giving us a good way of life it’s our security in this world. Someone said of money ‘you can’t take it with you when you go but you can’t go anywhere without it.’
Financial security is what most if not all people especially here in the West strive for. Yet it is so fleeting. Ask anyone who lost money in the stock market or investment schemes that went wrong.
Isaiah the prophet states,

“A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ and said, “What shall I cry?’

All men are like grass, 

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

 The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

because the breath of the Lord blows on them. 

Surely the people are grass 

the grass withers and the flowers fall, 

but the word of out God stands forever.”

                                                                                  Isaiah 40:6-8
We are nothing more that grass. Everything we own in life is nothing more than flowers in the field. We die and all our possessions eventually die also. Only what is done for God will last.

Something to think about.
The apostles set the example for us by following in the footsteps of Jesus. They never owned a sixty thousand dollar car or fancy house as far as I know. They never needed a cell phone or computer. And I’m sure they didn’t work a lot of overtime. Nor did they call for political reform.
Instead they gave of themselves, their lives, their money. They left their homeland and way of life to take the Gospel to the far reaches of their world.
In doing so they left a legacy that changed the world in a very real way.