My Chief Purpose: Love God and Love Others

The question, “What are you doing and why are you doing it?” presses into the purpose and motivation of a life before God. The clock is ticking, life is passing, and no person gets to go back and have a rerun. Society keeps asking the purpose question, but when that search leaves God out, the answer still comes up empty, like the old line, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Mark 12:28-34 brings that question to Jesus in the form of a test. A scribe asks which commandment is most important, and Jesus answers from Deuteronomy 6, the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The Lord is one means God is categorically one and numerically one. No other being belongs in the category of God, and there is no second god beside him. That truth calls for exclusive devotion, worship, and obedience.

The love of God means more than saying the right words in prayer or singing the right songs. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” so love shows itself as obedience. The whole Old Testament law points toward this: God desires exclusive worship, devotion, and obedience from his people. Israel could not do that on its own, and no believer can do that on personal strength either. That failure shows why Jesus had to come.

God gives the reason for such obedience in creation and redemption. Humanity bears the imago Dei, made in God’s image to reflect him and serve him. God also delivers his people from slavery, not merely from Egypt, but from sin, a slavery that holds the soul in chains. A disciple of Christ therefore belongs to God in the work truck, in meetings, at home, in finances, at church, and in every hidden place that is often held back.

The warning is that nobody drifts into godliness. A boat does not drift to its destination without someone steering the course. Technology and social media become one clear example of how trivial, dangerous, and distracting things can eat up hours that could be used for God’s word, prayer, and serving others.

The second command, “love your neighbor as yourself,” stands beside the first. Jesus defines love through service, humility, and sacrifice. Philippians calls a believer to count others more significant, and Jesus washes dirty feet as the master becoming the servant. The cross then shows how far love goes: Christ dies for enemies to reconcile them to God. So the most loving act toward the lost is not mere affirmation, but sharing the gospel and calling them to reconciliation with God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Purpose begins with loving God [41:09] The central purpose of life is not found by digging deeper into personal desires or chasing what society says will satisfy. Jesus gives a clear answer: life is ordered around loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. That love becomes the root purpose behind ordinary work, family life, decisions, words, and time. [41:09]
• 2. Love for God means obedience [48:58] Jesus does not leave love as a vague feeling or a religious mood. Love for God takes shape as keeping his commandments, not because obedience earns acceptance, but because devotion belongs to the One who alone is God. A divided life, where certain rooms stay closed to God, exposes the places where love has not yet become surrender. [48:58]
• 3. Nobody drifts into godliness [53:35] Godliness does not happen by accident, just like a boat does not drift to the right destination without a course being set. A believer must pay attention to the parts of life that quietly pull the heart away from God. Technology, entertainment, habits, and private desires all need to be brought under the question: does this serve obedience to Christ? [53:35]
• 4. Biblical love serves sacrificially [01:00:20] Jesus defines greatness by servanthood, not by status, influence, or being served. The towel and basin show the Master taking the lowest place for the good of others. Biblical love puts another person’s true good ahead of personal comfort, even when that service costs pride, convenience, and ease. [60:20]
• 5. Gospel witness is deep love [01:04:18] The most loving act toward someone lost in darkness is not pretending everything is fine. Love acts according to another person’s best interest as God defines it, and that means pointing to reconciliation with him. The gospel may confront, but it confronts as the good news of the Christ who died to save. [64:18]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:20] - Introduction and Personal Connection
• [36:15] - Prayer and Passage Setup
• [37:22] - What Are You Doing and Why?
• [39:49] - God Gives Life’s Purpose
• [41:30] - Jesus Tested in Jerusalem
• [42:49] - Reading Mark 12:28-34
• [44:10] - The Primary Purpose: Love God
• [45:59] - The Shema and Exclusive Devotion
• [48:58] - Loving God Through Obedience
• [53:35] - Nobody Drifts Into Godliness
• [57:21] - The Second Purpose: Love Others
• [59:52] - Servanthood Defines Biblical Love
• [62:11] - Love as Christ Has Loved
• [64:18] - Sharing the Gospel as Love
• [67:16] - Near to the Kingdom of God

Bible Reading

Mark 12:28-34
“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.” [42:56]

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.’” [44:23]

John 14:15
“‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’” [48:58]

Mark 10:43-45
“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [59:52]

John 13:34
“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.” [01:02:11]

Observation questions

1. In Mark 12:28-34, what two commands does Jesus place above all others?
2. In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, what does Jesus quote first before saying to love God, and what does that show about who God is? [45:45]
3. According to John 14:15, what does Jesus connect directly to love for him? [48:58]
4. What examples were given of everyday places where a believer belongs to God and is called to obey him? [52:14]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Why does that truth lead to exclusive devotion instead of partial devotion? [47:44]
2. If love for God means obedience, what does that say about a life that sings, prays, and speaks well, but keeps certain areas closed off from God? [52:52]
3. Jesus joins love for neighbor closely to love for God. Why should love for others be understood as more than kindness, and include humble service and sacrifice? [01:00:28]
4. Jesus says the scribe was “not far from the kingdom of God.” What is the difference between being near the kingdom and actually entering it? [01:07:49]

Application questions

1. “What are you doing, and why are you doing it?” Where has that question become especially needed in this season of life: work, home, finances, relationships, church life, or private habits? [40:02]
2. Many people keep one part of life back from God. What area is most tempting to hold onto and say, “this one’s for me”? What would surrender look like there this week? [52:52]
3. Nobody drifts into godliness. What patterns are currently steering life: prayer, Scripture, obedience, and service, or distraction and spiritual passivity? [53:49]
4. Technology can easily consume hours and shape the heart. What does phone use or social media reveal right now about what is getting attention, affection, and time? [54:39]
5. Loving a neighbor as oneself means serving others, not just thinking warmly about them. Who in everyday life might need practical, lowly, inconvenient service right now? [01:01:01]
6. Jesus loved sacrificially and defined love by another person’s true good. Is there someone who needs truth spoken with humility, patience, and real care rather than mere approval? [01:06:13]
7. The most loving act toward the lost is to point them to reconciliation with God. Who has the Lord placed nearby that needs the gospel, and what might be a faithful next step in speaking to them? [01:04:18]