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The Love Principle - Study 25: Love as Destination

  • 2 days ago
  • 21 min read

2 Peter 1:3-11 NIVUK

[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. [5] For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; [6] and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; [7] and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. [8] For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. [10] Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, [11] and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2pe.1.3-11.NIVUK)


A few years ago, we were in North America, enjoying the last few days of a two-week jaunt around Canada and Alaska. We ended up on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, wandering through what can only be described as a giant permanent theme park, looking for somewhere affordable to eat, when we found a popular fast food chain that my daughter wanted to try. So we ate there. They had what our North American friends would call an ‘unlimited sofa fountain’. It had all kinds of flavours of soft drinks that we had never tried, so we thought we would give it a go.


It’s then when we discovered just how dramatically different American and European soft drinks are.


Over on this side of the pond, there are all manner of regulations to ensure that our food and drink are safe. Many of these just don’t exist in North America. So we were trying out sodas that almost seemed to glow in the dark like waste water from a nuclear plant, promised to taste like a particular fruit, but instead resembled badly flavoured sugar with added water and insane food colouring.


My daughter now enjoys watching American videos of insane speciality coffees in coffee shop chains, where baristas make drinks for customers that honestly contain more syrup and sugar than they do actually coffee.


When people consume something that wild, one thought pops into their head:


Have they ever considered what these things do to them?


So far, we have gone on a very long Bible study journey about love. It had been fulfilling. It has absolutely been challenging. It has taken us to some high places where we have seen the wonders of God’s wonderful love for us. It has crashed us down to some very low places, where we have seen how our love, when it exists, pales in comparison.


Now we are going to look at what God’s love does for us, and why we should keep on loving God.


We will also see, like those gaudy soda machines, why the artificial love the world promises leaves us thirsty, and why we should flee from it.


Let’s examine, firstly, What God Did.


What God Did 

2 Peter 1:3-4 NIVUK

[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2pe.1.3-4.NIVUK)


One of the most popular TV shows in the UK is its version of ‘The Greatest Race’, which in the UK is called ‘Race Across The World’. In this show, teams of two people have to find their way between two very distant places by land and sea, often between eight and ten thousand miles apart, with nothing but a backpack and the same amount of money that it would coat to fly between the two places. The inaugural series, for example, was between Greenwich in London and the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.


What makes it all the more special is seeing people who aren’t used to the exacting conditions of long-distance backpacking having to survive with far less than they would normally take.


Like them, we often have a look at our resources and the challenge we are facing and feel thoroughly intimidated because we don’t feel like we have enough, or are enough.


These verses dispel that notion right away.


Let’s look first of all at The Purpose. That is: what does God want us to do?


And the answer to that is simple: live a godly life.


His purpose for us is not like ours. It isn’t career or ambition based. It isn’t money or housing based. His one priority for our lives is for us to be godly.


He is not interested in cash or clout, but character.


As Paul taught Titus:


Titus 2:11-14 NIVUK

[11] For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. [12] It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 

We might look at what we want to achieve and be intimidated by the lack of resources we have to get there. We might consider giving up because it seems to be beyond us. But we need to ask ourselves what God’s plan is, what would He want us to achieve. Often His purposes are not just in the arrival at our destination, but the journey it takes to get us there, and the strength, experience and resilience we pick up along the way.


Apart from the purpose, we also  see The Provision. Notice the specific words Peter used:

2 Peter 1:3 NIVUK

[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2pe.1.3.NIVUK)


God has provided us with all that we need to live a godly life: not a luxurious life, or a comfortable life, or even a happy life, but a godly life.


This is where our purposes and God’s purposes often diverge. We often complain about the things we don’t have, just like the Israelites in the desert (Numbers 11:4-6). Our purpose is to be comfortable and well-fed. We despise any threat to our agenda.


But notice God’s purpose:


Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NIVUK

[2] Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. [3] He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 

God’s purpose was to prepare a people for Himself, to declare His glory to the nations. That purpose did not require the presence of cucumbers or melons or fish or whatever else it was that the Israelites craved. It only required manna, so that they would be humbled and realise just how dependent they were on God.


Manna was all they needed.


If we were to stop thinking about what we don’t have and start thinking about how God had already given us what we need to live a godly life now, how would our perspective change?


So we see that God has His purpose – to make us godly – and that He has already provided all that we need to fulfil this purpose.


What we also see are His Promises.


2 Peter 1:4 NIVUK

[4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2pe.1.4.NIVUK)


I don’t know if you are familiar with the concept, but there are many older Christians who have heard of Promise Boxes. They are keepsake boxes filled with tiny pieces of paper. These pieces of paper have Scripture verses on them that are focused on the promises of God, such as:


Deuteronomy 31:8 NIVUK

[8] The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’ 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/deu.31.8.NIVUK)


Matthew 28:20 NIVUK

[20] And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ 

John 10:10 NIVUK

[10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

Romans 8:28 NIVUK

[28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/rom.8.28.NIVUK)


Now, these verses are tremendously comforting, and in hard times they really can make the difference between keeping going and giving up. I completely understand that and will never disparage it.


However, I am a little unsure of the value of picking them out of a ‘spiritual lucky dip’, especially if this is the sum total of your devotional readings.


There has to be more to it than this.


And there is.


Now, these promises are one hundred percent dependable – more dependable than gravity or the ground beneath your feet. They can be trusted more than anything or anyone. They are completely and utterly secure. That is what the Bible teaches us:


2 Corinthians 1:20 NIVUK

[20] For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2co.1.20.NIVUK)


But we should not use them as a spiritual pill to get us through the day. That would be like taking Oxycodone for a paper cut, or a frontal lobotomy for a mild headache. These promises are way more powerful than just a small pick-me-up.


Because they were given for a clear, precise purpose, and that purpose is so that we become more like Christ and participate in the very Nature of God. They are supposed to provide us with form evidence to strengthen our faith and give us confidence to obey Him. They are cheques for us to cash, backed by the everlasting resources of Heaven, but when we cash them, we must use the cash for a specific purpose.


They aren’t self-help tips. They aren’t emotional pick-me-ups.


 hey are designed to make us more like Jesus.


Because that is God’s purpose in our lives. Since He is good and He is love, then His purpose in our lives is also good. He has provided us with all that we need to fulfil this purpose, and has written us promises on which we can rely for the future.


So when we are less than His purpose for us, the problem is ours, not His.


We see, then, what God did, but we also see What We Should Do in response to this.


What We Should Do

2 Peter 1:5-7 NIVUK

[5] For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; [6] and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; [7] and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  

Every two years or so we fly home to visit my wife’s family on the Philippines. One of my uncles, who was there with us for our wedding more than twenty years ago, wanted to go, but was surprised to discover that there are no direct flights from our country to where we need to go.


We surprised at his surprise. When he came for our wedding, he had to fly from Glasgow to London Heathrow to Doha to Manila to Cebu. It seems like he’d forgotten his epic journey.


Nowadays, we can do it with two stops. However, the journey is still long and can be complicated. We like to plan for a stopover along the way so we are not completely exhausted when we arrive, but that adds extra complications. Suddenly we are not talking about satisfying one country’s immigration requirements, but two, or perhaps even three. It takes a lot of planning.


These verses explain the start of our journey of faith. It begins with believing in God: that change for the better is possible because He has given us everything we need. We also have His promises that we will always have whatever we need to grow.


But we don’t just stay there. Peter told us that we need to grow. We cannot just stay the same. Each of the behaviours and attitudes we see next is something we need to work at to ensure that we add it to our character. It’s not about having one or the other – it’s about having all of them. And there is a progression: we don’t just settle for having one or two, we seek to have more.


The list begins with goodness, which is a terrifically benign translation of the Greek word aretē, which means ‘moral excellence’.


Now, that should give us a jolt. Our traditional view of discipleship is that it starts with our lives in a moral mess and leads us towards moral excellence as we put right sins like a plumber stopping up leaks, or a pest controller bumping off rodents. But Peter disagreed. He said that the journey to discipleship begins with seeking to live a morally upright life.


And then in progresses to knowledge, which is practical insight about life in general and spiritual life in particular.


This, again, might be a surprise. Knowledge of theology doesn’t necessarily lead to a better morality, but once we are logging a moral, upright life, then we should seek greater insights in theology.


The practicalities of seeking to live a morally upright life and to know more about the Word of God, and life in general, should then lead to increased self-control. This is likely because our increasing insight leads us to be more aware of the consequences of our actions and we simply don’t want them.


To self-control we then seek to add perseverance, which is a type of self-control that drives us forward even when everything around us is against us.


This then leads to godliness. Godliness is a sense of piety and reverence towards God that has practical applications in the way we live. Put simply, we live lives that reflect the glory of God into the darkness around us.


This godliness shows itself then in brotherly kindness – the sense that all Christians are our family and therefore are treated with familial affection.


Do you see this? I hope you do. Godliness is not some stiff, starchy, moralising ‘holier-than-thou’-ness. It doesn’t just affect our morals, it also changes how we feel. It changes our emotions. As Paul wrote:


2 Corinthians 5:14-16 NIVUK

[14] For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. [15] And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. [16] So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  

The Gospel must fundamentally change the way we feel about other believers. Viewing them with affection is part of spiritual maturity. We cannot be mature without it.


And look where it leads: love.


Not just any love, but agape love.


So the goal of spiritual maturity is never so that you can get to the top and look down on everyone else. No, it’s so that you will love them with a 1 Corinthians 13 love, constantly seek their best interests, and bend down low to lift them up.


It was God’s love that saved us, but our love for God, our neighbours and ourselves is why we were saved – it is the destination where we should seek to be.


For some of us, the journey there will be short – like crossing the street. For others it will be a lot longer – like crossing the globe. What matters is that we set off and we seek to arrive. God will honour that determination to love.


But I want you to notice something really significant in these verses. We might feel that there is an easy way to get these behaviours in our lives, that we just need to go to church, plug ourselves into some good music and a Biblical sermon, unplug ourselves after around an hour and we’re good to go.


But that’s wrong. So very wrong.


Look again at what Peter said:


2 Peter 1:5 NIVUK

[5] For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith... 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/2pe.1.5.NIVUK)


This means means ‘to work hard’, ‘to be diligent’, ‘to make an effort’. Christianity is not a spectator sport. We are all supposed to want to be more godly and to work at being more godly.


In fact, the fact that love is the destination in this journey shows that it isn’t some mystical feeling that comes and goes like a virus, but instead something we have to work and strive for.


There may have been no surprises when we saw what God has done for us. But perhaps there are in what we should do in response. Maybe we think we are saved by grace, so we don’t need to do anything.


The Bible clearly disagrees:


Ephesians 2:8-10 NIVUK

[8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – [9] not by works, so that no-one can boast. [10] For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

We are saved by God’s work, to work. So we should work at being more godly, and being more loving.


But maybe the distance between where we are now and where we know we need to be intimidates us. Maybe we wonder how we will ever get there.


These verses will help:


Philippians 2:12-13 NIVUK

[12] Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose. 

To give you a picture of what this is like, imagine you’re playing in a doubles tournament at your local tennis club. You check the draw and realise that you’re due to play the club champions, who are unbeaten in more than a decade, and the epitome of smugness. Imagine you’re already feeling a bit frustrated at the draw, when you receive a text that your normal partner can’t make it but they have sent a replacement.


Imagine stepping out onto the tennis court to face your smug, self-confident opponents, and seeing the current Wimbledon champion come out the dressing room and stand beside you on the court.


That’s what this feels like – times infinity.


You might be intimidated by how far behind the curve you feel, but Almighty God is partnering with you to make you into the person He wants you to be.


Suddenly the journey doesn’t seem quite so far.


So we have seen what God has done – how we have everything we need to become more godly and love as we ought, and what we should do, in that we should make an effort.


We then see What We Should Not Do.


What We Should Not Do 

2 Peter 1:8-9 NIVUK

[8] For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 

I have to be honest and say that my eyesight is not the best. I have to visit the opticians every few years. Whenever my prescription changes, I’m afraid I’m so vain that I pay for the lenses to be thinned. I just don’t want to walk around with two lenses resembling the bottom of glass bottles strapped to my face. I would get Lasik, but the idea of someone going all Star Wars on my corneas just doesn’t appeal.


So instead, I go twice a year and have our friendly optician ask me to read letters off the board (which I can just about see), and wave lots of lenses in front of my eyeballs.


Peter taught here that we have a choice: we either continue on this blessed journey towards growth in agape love or we risk four seriously undesirable effects of not doing so.


And two of these are in regard to our sight.


The first of these is ineffective. The word actually has two meanings. The first of these is someone who is at ease and at leisure.


Since the Greek word used here is argos, which is also the name of a chain of stores in the UK, I’m hoping this was the meaning they were going for.


Because the second one, which Peter seems to have meant, is someone who is lazy and shuns the labour they should be doing. It also refers to someone who is unemployed (by choice) and barren, in that they produce absolutely nothing.


Now, that is not a favourable place to be.


Peter emphasised this by teaching that the second undesirable effect is that they become unproductive.


The word used here refers to a barren field or tree, which does not produce what it should. Quite strikingly, it’s also used here:


Matthew 13:22 NIVUK

[22] The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  

There is a risk, then, that the things other people value and believe are important could crowd out our critical task of becoming like Jesus and loving like He did. That’s something to which we must pay the utmost attention. Like a ship heading to port to avoid a storm, we must stay on course. We cannot be blown about by other values or priorities. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians:


Ephesians 4:14-15 NIVUK 

[14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed to and fro by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  

The third undesirable effect is that they become short-sighted, or, as the Greek word indicates, myopic. They only see what is right in front of them. They only live for now. They have no sense of the wealth that will come to them through the long-term investment in their own spiritual growth. They are like the Prodigal Son, who wanted his inheritance right away and burned through it with riotous living (Luke 15:11-13).


But Peter is still not done. The fourth undesirable effect is that they are blind. The word here means not just physical blindness, but also spiritual blindness (John 9:39-41).


And what they are blind to is the think they have forgotten: that all their past sins have been forgotten at a very high price, therefore they should abandon them and pursue righteousness and love.


You can see now how there is no way we should reject this or turn our back on this. We must pursue growth. We must aim for love. We must set our course for it and never turn back.


As well as what God did, and what we should and should not do, we also see What Love Does.


What Love Does 

2 Peter 1:10-11 NIVUK

[10] Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, [11] and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Friend, let me ask you a question:


Are you sure of your salvation?


If you are in Christ, your salvation is secure. There is no doubt about that at all, but do you feel secure? Do you feel certain? Do you feel safe?


Security is in somewhat short supply nowadays. People in general have not felt as insecure now as they have done for years.


Yet Peter said here that there is a path to security. There is something we can do to make ourselves feel secure.


That feeling comes from accepting what God has done for us, taking Him at His Word, believing His promises and seeking to love like Him. The changes this causes in our character confirms to all, including ourselves, that we are different, that we are saved.


We see the same principle in Romans 8:


Romans 8:28-29 NIVUK

[28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  

Do you understand how this works? God works for our good in everything, because in everything He is working with is to conform us to Christ’s likeness. This conforming process is good because it is what we were created for – His purposes is for us to fulfil our purpose. As we fulfil our purpose, we confirm that we are God’s children and are saved.


Over the years, many Christians have acted as if grace is cheaper just a meaningless prayer away – and holiness is nothing more than narrow-minded legalism. And so some Christians have seen fit to sin flagrantly and shamelessly, on the mistaken premise that God will forgive them anyway, so they might as well ‘enjoy’ life.


But, of course, it is far from true:


Romans 6:1-4 NIVUK

[1] What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? [2] By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? [3] Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 

Such people will struggle to find any assurance of salvation. Of course this is the case! Their god is their appetites. They have no love for the One True God, or their neighbours, only themselves. They are making no attempt to grow more like Jesus; instead, they are more focused on their own desires. 


They didn’t lose their salvation. We should wonder if they ever had it to start with.


But for those of us who live to be more like Jesus, our salvation is secured.


As Jesus put it:


Matthew 7:24-27 NIVUK

[24]  ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. [26] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’ 

Assurance of salvation only comes – and can only come – when we stand on the rock that is Jesus Christ by obeying Him and following Him.


So tell me, Christian, where are you standing?


Conclusion 

2 Peter 1:3-11 NIVUK

[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. [5] For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; [6] and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; [7] and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. [8] For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. [10] Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, [11] and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

The longest journey I have ever taken took my by train from Brașov in Romania for twelve hours to Budapest in Hungary, then a three-hour flight to London Heathrow, a twelve hour flight to Hong Kong, a three hour flight to Manila and a one hour flight to Cebu, back to back. I was in my twenties, but I have never felt jet lag like it. I think it took me three days to transition from zombie to human.


It was worth it, though. That was the trip where I met the woman who became my wife.


Being married to someone from the Philippines has taught me the meaning of long journeys with sometimes multiple stopovers along the way. Some have been quite troublesome or stressful. It isn’t good to step out of an air-conditioned, sanitised airport while half-asleep, only to have your senses assaulted by soaring hear and humidity, over-zealous taxi drivers, incessant noise and languages that to you at least are utterly incomprehensible. It can be quite a shock to the system. 


Which is why we pick and choose our stopovers quite carefully. We are not as young as we used to be.


Travel is both a joy and a privilege. I used to joke that it broadens the mind and narrows the wallet. The joy of travel is found not just in the destination but the journey. If we can’t enjoy the journey, we will be worn out by the time we reach the destination.


As Christians, our journey starts when the Lord begins to work on our lives to draw us to Himself. He provides everything we need to be successful in it: the failures are all our own. While many do not set out and try to use their faith as nothing more than a comfort blanket and an insurance policy that gives the  a licence to live however they wish, we who are actually seeking to live up the Name know that our lives have to change. We don’t just repent once in our lives and forget it, we live repenting every day. We do this because we know that the aim of our journey is to love as Jesus loves us, and every day leads us closer to this goal.


The reward for this is also beyond compare: eternity with Jesus in Heaven.


For a true Christian, the goal of their lives is not to live long or earn well, or to travel far, or to marry upwards, but to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ their Saviour.


So tell me: are you on this journey: the journey to love?


Prayer

Lord Jesus, I confess that I have strayed from this path. From now on, the goal of my life will be to love like You. Show me how, I pray. Amen.


Questions for Contemplation 

  • What are the benefits we receive from Jesus? Why are they important?

  • What should be the goal of every Christian? Is it your goal?

  • Who is at fault if we fail to live up to it? What do we receive as we grow?

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