Anywho, I also dropped the hint that Wesley posited what our one concern, our ultimate aim should be:
"All his actions are the result of pure choice: the thing he would, that he does, and that only. Love is the health of the soul, the full exertion of all its powers, the perfection of all its faculties. Therefore, since the enjoyment of these was the one end of our creation, the recovering of them is the one thing now needful. May not the same truth appear, secondly, from hence, that this was the one end of our redemption; of all our blessed Lord did and suffered for us; of his incarnation, his life, his death?...Therefore this, being the one end of our redemption as well as our creation, is the one thing needful for us upon this earth."
This decree should come as no surprise to us. Wesley, though the author of his own thoughts, pulls significantly from the established Word of God. If you recall from Matthew, a Pharisee questions Jesus:
"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40 (emphasis mine)
As you can clearly see, love was important to Jesus. These two commandments are priorities for Christ. And, in being Christians, "Christ-like," we should adopt His priorities as our own.
This is precisely what Wesley is getting at. Just as Christ's entire existence and purpose was love, so, then, should ours be.
Imagine how vastly different the world would be if we lived to love.
Take a closer look, too, at Jesus' life. He did not just love those that loved Him; He loved all - completely and unconditionally, and He calls us to much the same. In His famed Sermon on the Mount, he says:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" Matthew 43:47
We are called to be different. If we were no different than the rest of the world in the ways that Jesus calls us to be, why have our own, separate title (Christian)? We are called "Christians" to set us apart, and we stand out most drastically when we love unconditionally - those that love us and those that dont.
Love is our design. Its our purpose. So how much of our intended purpose are we fulfilling?
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