Lesson 213. The Stage of Love

Every fruit tree has its own value, which is determined by the presence of fruit. Each tree has a certain growing season, its own characteristics, its own time frames and purposes. By the taste and quality of the fruit, one can determine how useful the tree is and whether it is worth continuing to care for it.

In His parables, the Lord often uses this image to reveal His expectations to His children. It is good to be a tree planted by streams of water, but the requirements for such a plant are also very high. Anything may grow in a forest, but in God’s garden only that which bears good fruit grows.

As much as one might wish to give everyone hope that the main thing is to get into God’s garden and that somehow we will adapt once we are there, the Bible teaches that only good, fruit-bearing plants remain in this garden, although the Lord takes painstaking care of everyone planted there.

And what fruit does the Lord expect from His plantings? The very fruit that is beneficial to the soul and glorifies God. We read in Galatians 5:22–23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

But if a tree is called a pear tree, I do not expect apples from it. In my own life, however, I can diversify my fruits if I comprehend the science of salvation and try and practice what is relevant for the present time.

Serving God is the most beautiful state of the soul; it brings joy and satisfaction to the heart, although at times it takes place under very difficult conditions. And at some point I begin to understand very clearly that I need love, that for fullness and harmony I lack this quality in my life, and that my motives are good, yet at times they remain tasteless. I labor with all my heart, do God’s work, and do it responsibly and joyfully, but my heart does not love those for whom I labor. At times I become aware of the terrible truth that I need no one and that, by and large, no one is interested in me either. And this language very quickly gives itself away. I look like a hypocrite. Although I understand that everything in my life is right, that I have a close relationship with Christ, that there is ministry and there are results, nevertheless I do not have love. I cannot say that I have none at all; here and there it makes itself known, and I see how it sometimes acts and gladdens my heart, but I also understand that it must always be present.

And the good news for me is that God leads me from glory to glory, not in order to cast me aside at some moment of my despair or disappointment in myself, but to endow me with everything He has purposed and to make me what He desires to see. And as I passed from stage to stage, I simply came up against an ocean into which I must enter. Behind me are the wilderness, darkness, struggles, and the pursuit seeking to return me to slavery; ahead is a boundless sea that will drown me. But Jesus draws me into these waters. I understand what they mean; I thirst to have them within me and to be in them. Love is not merely another stage of my growth; it is the open heart of God, which desires to become my heart and to teach me to treat people as the Lord does. The special feature of receiving this gift is that God desires to give it to me, but He cannot do so without me. He often showed me that love exists; He took me in His arms and lowered me into these waters, and then set me back down, desiring that I should thirst for it with all my soul. And when I understand with my mind that I need it and strive with my heart to receive it, then a more excellent way opens before me. And I enter a new stage of faith.

6. Agape Love.

I knew that it existed, I knew that it was available, but theory is one thing and personal experience is another. How I longed to taste this goodness and discover its flavor. I tried to find it in the accounts of others; I desired to receive it from the experiences of others, but I only guessed what it was.

When I was a child, I saw how people formed families, how they lived together, and then how children were born to them. I decided that I too would have a family. I saw my wife in every girl, but I was shy about offering my hand and heart. At the age of thirteen, I firmly decided to marry and even chose the classmate who was very well suited for that role, but I never proposed to her. The laws of the country restrained me from taking this step, but I learned that somewhere in India one could marry at that age, and I deeply regretted that I was not in India. I was not interested in where we would live, how we would support a family, or where children came from; I simply wanted a family relationship because that was how adults lived. I had a visible example, but no knowledge or understanding of what it was. Time passed, however, and at the age of twenty-two my dream came true. By then I already had understanding, responsibility, and permission for such an undertaking. I did not know what it looked like from within, but I moved confidently toward it, and when I entered this stage of life, I began to understand it better. During this time of life together, I have understood three important things: 1. What a family should not be. 2. What it can be if love is brought into it. 3. Family happiness is built by both spouses. In other cases, either it does not exist or it is one-sided. Of course, there are other discoveries as well, but in a relationship the participation of both sides is important.

Look at how God relates to us, to the world, and to me. Absolute love. And what does He receive in return?

But if I desire to respond in kind, then something very beautiful will result between us. When I was a babe in Christ, I viewed my relationship with God as a child, although I dreamed of something great and considered myself an adult. But children are not permitted to live an adult life; they must learn certain things, and this takes time. Yet if that time has come and I am still feeding from a bottle and very fond of wearing diapers, people already look at me with regret. God has appointed seasons of growth, and He does not hasten them, although exceptions may be made for prodigies. But when the time comes, He draws me farther.

And the stage of love is not something I may or may not want, but the place in my faith that I must reach. This step was created not for “favorites” or the especially gifted, but for everyone—and for you, reader!!! This science is not theory for those who are bored and have nothing to do, but the narrow way that will lead you to the goal.

If you choose another way, you will miss the goal. In a literal translation, sin means to miss the mark. Is that what you want? What do you expect from your Christianity, dear friend? To drift quietly with the current? If you want to take off, remember that an airplane takes off against the wind.

If God has prepared love for you, desires to endow you with it, and accepts nothing else, would it not be better to meet Him and choose what is mine by right and in fact? Is that logical? Yet with all God’s strictness and longsuffering, He allows me to make this choice myself, without outside pressure, after weighing everything and deciding. And what do I choose?

Eternal life is worth giving everything to obtain it.

If in life it is possible not to start a family rather than to create just anything, then in a relationship with Christ one must create what He offers, and in this relationship just anything will not do. What hinders you, friend? Love exists; it is available and worth attaining. It awaits you. The Spirit and the bride say, Come.

1. In the light of our lesson, please read Psalm 1:3; Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 17:8; Matthew 3:12; 25:29–46; Mark 11:13; John 15:5–9, 13, 16, 17, 21, 27; Galatians 5:22–23; James 3:12–18; John 12:24–26; Isaiah 66:19–20; 2 Corinthians 3:3–4, 6; and Mark 9:49.

2. What new things did you learn in this lesson?

3. How does God address His children? Can He do this through our lessons?

4. Why does the Apostle Paul call the stage of love “a more excellent way”? 1 Corinthians 12:31.

5. Is life good for those who love and make this love the joy and meaning of life?

6. Why, despite love being available to all, is it neither popular nor sought after even among God’s children?

7. Is there truly no love at the previous stages of faith? Explain how you understand its presence in a person’s life.

8. Why do those who have reached the higher stages of faith become less understandable to those who do not strive for further growth?

9. Can a person who is at the second or third stage be a counselor or mentor to those who have surpassed him in faith and are at the following stages, but are younger in physical age?