Living the Christian Life – Chapter 11: Read to the End of the Book

In the book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible, we see that in the end Christ Jesus will return to earth and destroy the works of the devil, save His people, and set up His everlasting Kingdom. He will ultimately answer our prayer, “Your Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10 ESV). Scripture promises that in Christ, we will overcome Satan and his evil forces.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death (Revelation 12:11 NASB).

In the end, this is the glorious life that awaits us after Christ’s return:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:3-5 ESV).

The Greatest is Love

In conclusion, as you begin this spiritual journey, it’s important to remember that our walk with God is all about love. Probably the most famous passage in Scripture is John 3:16 (ESV): “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Just as we said at the beginning of this teaching, it comes back around to the first and second commandments: “love the Lord your God,” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 NIV). The apostle John gives us an excellent definition of love:

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16 NLT).

The apostle Paul encourages us to “let love be your highest goal!” (1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT). So love becomes our litmus test. We are filled with love when we are filled with His Holy Spirit.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:7-8, 11 ESV).

Jesus’ final message to His disciples before going to the cross was this:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35 ESV).

God loves you more than you will ever know because, as John points out, God is love. That love now dwells inside of you because His Spirit lives within you. Now He wants you to shine that light to others, telling them the Good News that God loves them, too!

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT).