That’s What Its All About

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Short Summary
The discourse explores the meaning of life, concluding that it centers on doing good deeds motivated by selfless agape love and faith in Christ. It emphasizes that genuine good works, regardless of size, performed without seeking personal reward, lead to spiritual growth, eternal life, and closer harmony with God and others. Everyday opportunities to serve and love others reflect this purpose and help develop Christlike character.

Long Summary
Central Question: The discourse begins with the timeless question: *What is the meaning of life? What is it all about?* Initially, as a child, the speaker humorously thought the answer was found in school, recalling the “hokey pokey” song that says, “That’s what it’s all about.” However, this was quickly realized to be an inadequate answer.

Ultimate Goal: The true ultimate goal is for all of God’s creation to have happy, perfect, loving lives in harmony with God the Father and with each other. This goal is simple to state but complex to achieve.

Path to the Goal:
– Some emphasize knowledge—studying scripture and doctrine.
– 1 Corinthians 13 emphasizes that knowledge alone is insufficient (1 Cor 13:2). Even faith (which is essential for eternal life) alone is not enough.
– The missing crucial element is agape love (selfless, unconditional love).

Biblical Foundation of Love:
– Jesus’ commandments: Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; love your neighbor as yourself; and the “new commandment” to love the brethren.
– 1 Corinthians 13:3 states that even giving all possessions to feed the poor or sacrificing oneself without love means nothing.

Understanding Agape Love:
– Not just an emotion or meditative focus.
– Agape love is demonstrated through actions, specifically *good deeds*.
– Scriptural examples show agape love results in eternal life for both the consecrated and the unconsecrated.

Key Scripture on Good Deeds and Eternal Life:
– John 5:28-29 (NASB): Resurrection to life is for those who “did the good deeds.”
– Matthew 25:34-46 details good deeds for the unconsecrated: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned—those who do these are called righteous and receive eternal life.
– The deeds required are *good deeds*, not necessarily great or monumental ones.

Motivation Matters:
– Good deeds must be motivated by genuine agape love, not for praise or recognition.
– Matthew 6:2 warns against doing good to be seen by others, as such people have received their reward from men, not God.
– Personal anecdote: The speaker gave money to a homeless woman expecting gratitude, but was disappointed; this revealed a fleshly motivation akin to “sounding a trumpet.”
– Luke 6:35-36 commands loving enemies and doing good expecting nothing in return, reflecting God’s mercy.

Trials and Growth:
– Difficult or discouraging experiences teach reliance on God.
– 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 highlights enduring afflictions without despair because the Lord sustains us.

Good Samaritan Law Example:
– Illustrates societal recognition and protection for those who do good deeds.
– Encouragement not to be discouraged from doing good even if unintended consequences occur.

Faith and Works Connection:
– James 2:20, 22: Faith without works is useless; Abraham’s faith was perfected by his actions.
– Good deeds, even small ones, strengthen and perfect faith.

Everyday Opportunities for Good Deeds:
– Even simple acts like driving on the freeway can be opportunities for kindness:
– Letting others merge safely and graciously promotes peace and harmony.
– Being a peacemaker in small interactions reflects agape love.
– Examples include being a good listener, forgiving those who wrong us (Jesus washing Judas’ feet), helping with chores, offering rides, feeding the hungry.

Illustrative Story of Neighborly Good Deed:
– The speaker and his wife befriended a gruff, initially unfriendly neighbor.
– Through small acts (smiling, offering help), they developed a 20+ year friendship.
– The neighbor was a highly intelligent retired engineer who disliked hypocrisy but enjoyed gospel music.
– Demonstrates how small deeds can open hearts and transform relationships.

The Nature of Good Deeds:
– Not about grandeur or fame.
– About consistently letting our light shine through small, motivated acts of love.
– Hebrews 13:16 (correct translation): “Do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Summary of “What It’s All About”:
– Combination of:
– Doing good deeds motivated by selfless agape love,
– Faith in Jesus as Savior,
– Desire to walk in Christ’s footsteps.
– Titus 2:14: Jesus gave Himself to redeem and purify a people zealous for good works.
– The presence of evil and suffering motivates us to grow in sensitivity and zeal for good.

Closing Encouragement:
– Galatians 6:10: “Do good unto everyone as you have opportunity, and especially unto the household of faith.”
– Doing good pleases God, blesses others, strengthens faith, and changes us to be more Christlike.
– Small deeds matter, motivated by love and faith, lead to eternal, spiritual rewards beyond worldly recognition.

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Selected Bible Verses Cited:

– 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 – Knowledge, faith, and love; the necessity of agape love.
– John 5:28-29 – Resurrection according to deeds.
– Matthew 25:34-46 – Good deeds leading to eternal life.
– Matthew 6:2 – Warning against doing good for public praise.
– Luke 6:35-36 – Love your enemies and do good expecting nothing in return.
– 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – Endurance in affliction with God’s help.
– Hebrews 13:16 – Do good and share; pleasing to God.
– Galatians 6:10 – Do good to all, especially the household of faith.
– James 2:20,22 – Faith and works; Abraham’s example.
– John 13:4-17 – Jesus washing the disciples’ feet as an example of humility and service.
– Titus 2:14 – Jesus purifying a people zealous for good works.

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In essence, the discourse teaches that the meaning of life and what “it’s all about” is living out one’s faith through daily good deeds motivated by unconditional, selfless agape love, reflecting Christ’s example, and ultimately receiving eternal life.

Transcript

That’s what it’s all about.

Since the beginning of time, the number one question has always been, what is the meaning of life? What is it all about? Where could someone go to get the answer to that question? Well, at the age of five, for me, the answer was obvious. I would have to go to school.

And while in the first grade, I did indeed get the answer, and to help us remember the answer, they taught it to us in a song. You put your left foot in, you take your left foot out. You put your left foot in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around altogether.

Now that’s what it’s all about, Right? So, unfortunately, by the time I got to the second grade, I realized the hokey pokey was not what it’s all about.

So what is the answer to our question? Well, at this point in our adult lives, whether consecrated or unconsecrated, we realize the ultimate goal is for all of God’s creation to have lives that are happy, perfect, loving, and in harmony with the Father and with each other. The goal is easy to understand, but how do we get there? Some believe the path to righteousness should be heavily focused on knowledge, and they dedicate their lives to study. Well, we know knowledge is important, but that’s only part of the path.

After all, in 1 Corinthians 13, we are told having all knowledge is not enough, and by the way, Brother Arbor’s theme discourse coming up next will go into greater detail about First Corinthians 13. That chapter also talks about faith. How important is faith? Well, if you want eternal life, which we all do, we are told it requires faith in Jesus as the Savior.

And yet, even the combination of faith and knowledge is not enough. Verse two tells us, if we have all knowledge and faith that is so strong it could move mountains, but lack one other thing, it says, I am nothing. What is that missing item? Is. It works.

Well, we know from the next verse, 1 Corinthians 13:3, even if you gave away all of your possessions to feed the poor and sacrificed your own body, it is still not enough. There’s one thing missing. According to those two verses, the missing item is agape love. Now, we all know the two commandments and the new commandment Jesus gave us. They’re all based on this.

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, and soul. Love thy neighbor as yourself, and the new commandment, love the brethren. So the question is, is agape love what it’s all about? Well, what exactly is Agape love. Is it something you’re supposed to feel like an emotion?

Is it something you’re supposed to think about and meditate on? In the same way, there are religious monks who choose a word or a mantra to meditate on for months at a time, and as if they will somehow gain enlightenment from that. We’re given the word and we’re commanded to do it. But do we really understand what that means? In our day to day lives?

We know one definition of agape love is unconditional, selfless love. But that still doesn’t explain how to do it or what it looks like in some online dictionaries. When you look up the definition of a word, they will also have a button you can click on to see how it’s used in some sentences. So in trying to understand agape love, I looked up every instance that it was used in the scriptures, but I still didn’t completely understand the concept. However, while doing the research, I noticed a common and very powerful end result for anyone having this love.

They receive eternal life, and that’s not only for the consecrated, but also for the unconsecrated, the entire world of mankind. But that’s not all. It turns out There’s a common phrase in these verses that seems to answer our original question about what agape love looks like, and it’s based on an action.

Is this action perhaps what it’s all about? When searching for the phrase eternal life in the New Testament for the consecrated, I really like John 5, 29. Now I’ll read John 5, 28 and 29 in New American Standard and let’s see if we can pick out the action.

An hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth. Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. Did we hear what the action is? The action is good deeds. Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life.

Is it surprising that the phrase is not great deeds? You’d think in order to gain eternal life, it would require greatness, especially for the consecrated, but it doesn’t, and what about for the unconsecrated? We have verses that give us examples of good deeds they do to gain eternal life. Here’s the list of their good deeds.

Give someone something to eat when they’re hungry. Give them something to drink when they’re thirsty. Invite them in when they’re a stranger. Clothe them if they need clothes, and finally visit them when they’re sick or in prison. This list is found In Matthew, chapter 25, verse 46 calls the people who did those good deeds righteous and tells us what they receive.

It says they receive eternal life. Of course, we know eternal life is on a different plane for the consecrated than for the world of mankind, but it’s still eternal life. Good deeds, eternal life. That’s what it’s all about. Now we all know the difference between good deeds and bad deeds.

But is it possible to do a good deed that doesn’t count as agape love? Well, of course, and this reminds me of a story about three Boy Scouts who were told by their Scoutmaster that if they wanted to earn a merit badge that day, then they had to do a good deed. Well, about an hour later, the three boys returned and they proudly announced that they had done a good deed. They helped an elderly lady across the street.

The Scoutmaster said, okay, well done, but did it really take all three of you to do that? And they said, oh, absolutely, because she really didn’t want to go.

Here’s a more serious example. If you give $1,000 to feed the poor, but you want to make sure everyone knows you did this, what do the scriptures say? Matthew 6:2 says, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as do the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full.

In other words, the reward they received was being honored by men instead of being blessed by God. It seems the definition of a good deed that leads to eternal life must be an action that helps someone, and it must have the proper motivation.

A real world example of improper motivation is something that happened to me years ago when I was freshly consecrated. I was at a fast food restaurant and a lady outside who looked homeless was begging for money. She asked if I had any spare change, hoping to get some coins from me. I decided to exceed her expectations by giving her $5, feeling pretty good about how generous I was being. What happened next is where I failed.

I expected her to enthusiastically say thank you, but what she said was, have you got any more?

Well, at the time, I was upset by her response. Why was I upset? Because just like the person in Matthew 6:2, I was expecting the sound of a trumpet. The way I should have handled it was to realize that giving a gift means you expect nothing in return. It’s the same way that God’s grace means he gives good things even to the ungrateful, without expecting anything in return.

To paraphrase Luke 6, 35 and 36, love your enemies and do good, expecting nothing in return, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. By the way, how many people were affected by that fast food incident? Well, the homeless person was affected and I was affected.

Could others have also been affected? The answer is yes. See, her reaction could have upset me so much I would have never again given money to a beggar. Who would want me to be so discouraged that I would never again help someone in need? The adversary, of course.

But why would the Lord not overrule and prevent me from having that discouraging experience?

Well, an interesting thing happens to us when we have discouraging or even painful experiences. Eventually we realize we can survive them with confidence because the Lord is with us. To quote Second Corinthians 4, 8, 9 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not despairing, Persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. It’s interesting that we actually had to pass a law allowing people to do good without the fear of punishment.

And that law is named after a parable in the New Testament. What’s the name of that law? Well, here’s a true story. A lady in a restaurant was choking on her food and turning blue because she couldn’t breathe. A man from a nearby table saw what was happening and gave her the Heimlich maneuver.

The food popped out and she began breathing again. However, the lady took the man to court because in the process of saving her life, he accidentally broke one of her ribs, which sometimes happens during life saving procedures. The judge threw the case out and informed the lady that in the United States we have what’s called the Good Samaritan Law, which protects people who are trying to do a good deed. Then the judge said to the man, sir, I hope this doesn’t discourage you from continuing to do good to others, and if I’m ever in a restaurant and I start choking on food, I want you to save my life.

When I was a police officer, one of the pieces of equipment we were issued was a bulletproof vest. We knew they worked and that helped give us confidence to put ourselves in dangerous situations. Not that we won’t get bruised or struggle, but that we will be able to survive. For first responders, it’s not about trying to win medals or awards. It’s about helping people in need.

And in walking the narrow way we stop craving or expecting praise from men, and when we stop craving or needing that, our motives to do good deeds actually come from a higher place. So if improper motivation means we are looking for fleshly reward such as praise, appreciation or notoriety, then what is proper motivation? And what is the word that describes it? It’s at the beginning of Luke 6:35, which we just read.

It says, love your enemies, do good, expecting nothing in return, and you will be sons of the Most High. Love selfless agape love, and do we see how eternal life is referenced as the spiritual reward in that verse? Not fleshly reward, spiritual reward, you will be sons of the Most High. Those are the saints.

If I had to answer the question of what is it all about? It would be the combination of doing good deeds which are motivated by selfless agape love and faith in Christ as the Savior of all, and a desire to walk in his footsteps, and isn’t that our purpose according to Titus 2.

14?

Our purpose? It says, Jesus.

Works, brethren, we are those people, a people for his own possession, and our zeal for doing good does grow stronger each day of our consecrated walk. So why? Why does our zeal grow stronger? A big part of our development is that the Lord exposes us to both see and feel pain and suffering in the world.

And it hurts us inside, and it’s supposed to because we become more sensitive and that’s how we become sympathetic under priests, and the more we understand God’s ultimate plan of goodness and mercy and love, and the more we see and are bothered by the sin and suffering and pain in the world, the more we want to do something about it, and this doesn’t only apply to the consecrated. The purpose for the permission of evil is to motivate everyone in the next age to do whatever it takes to live in happy, perfect, loving harmony with the Father and with each other, being zealous for good deeds.

Let’s now talk about a biblical example of a good deed. Not a great deed, but a good deed that teaches a great lesson. John 13, verses 4 and 5. Jesus got up from supper, laid aside his garments, and taking a bowl, he girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.

What was the purpose of that event? To answer that question, let’s read John 13, verses 14, 15 and 17.

So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Jesus did a good deed that taught two great lessons. One, he demonstrated humility. He was the king about to die, and yet he was washing the dirty feet of those who were beneath him, and number two, he gave the example of serving others, especially the brethren, and this of course reminds us of Galatians 6:10, Galatians 6:10.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. That’s what it’s all about. How often do we have opportunities to do good deeds for others? Every single day. Unless you’re in solitary confinement and have zero human contact, there’s always an opportunity to do good, even if it’s just a smile.

And if you want to take that smile to the next level, then smile and say hello, and this reminds me of a true story when Sister Charlene and I bought our first home together in California. It was a small townhouse that had been built in 1965, and one of the first things we did was knock on the door of our next door neighbor. After all, we were going to share a wall and a patio fence. Well, the person that answered the door was a gruff elderly gentleman who did not seem to like anybody.

You know the type, suspicious, harsh, maybe thinking we were trying to sell something. Well, the first thing we did, we both gave a big sincere smile to this man who was obviously not very happy and not very friendly. We said hello. We let him know we had just bought the townhouse next door and we just wanted to introduce ourselves. His response was a grunt and a half nod of his head.

So we told him our names and then said, okay, nice to meet you and we’ll see you later. That led to another grunt and then he closed his door. Well, we kind of felt sorry for him because he also didn’t seem very bright. Not being critical, that’s just how it seemed. A couple of days later we’re on our back patio taking down the old beat up metal awning that had probably been there about 30 years, but it looked like it had been installed during the Civil War.

It was bad. We had limited tools but plenty of enthusiasm and we were working hard. However, we were making quite a bit of noise and the next thing we know, our neighbor is knocking on the back gate of the patio. Well, before I could apologize for all the noise, he said, I’ve got some tools if you need them and I can Help you if you want.

We said that would be great. Thank you. Well, next thing you know, he comes over with crowbars, sledgehammers, a ladder, and between the three of us, we got old awning down, and he helped us take it to the dumpster with his foot truck that he also brought over. Well, by the end of this, we were all having a good time. Turns out this gruff fellow wasn’t mean and backwards.

He just didn’t have any social skills. Not only that, turns out he was extremely intelligent. He was a retired mechanical engineer with a master’s degree from Yale University. He was one of the core developers of the Saturn V rocket engine for the Apollo missions, including the ones that landed on the moon. Talk about misjudging someone based on first impressions.

Well, as time went on, we learned he did not go to church because he didn’t like hypocrisy. But what he did like was listening to old gospel songs from singers like Tennessee Ernie Ford, and when he found out Sister Charlene and I would often go to church conventions, he insisted on driving us to and from the airport. When he learned we sang in the choir at some of the conventions, he wanted us to bring him back recordings of the choir so he could play them in his car while we all sang along. We were close friends with him for over 20 years until he passed away from COVID How did all of this start?

With a friendly smile and saying hello.

When people do great, big, wonderful, amazing deeds, it makes the news. But that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about letting our light shine every day. Small ways, small deeds with the right motivation to everyone, especially the household of faith. Another word for deeds is works.

How is faith connected to works? After all, James 2:20 says faith without works is useless. Then James uses the example of Abraham offering up Isaac on the altar because he had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead.

And what happened to Abraham’s faith after that event? Something amazing. According to James 2:22, his faith didn’t decrease and it didn’t stay the same as it was. Instead, Abraham’s faith was strengthened and perfected because of doing the works. Now, has the Lord asked us to do anything as monumental as what Abraham did?

No. But he has asked us to do good deeds to everyone. Remember the scripture that says we were created for the purpose of doing good works? Can our good deeds strengthen and perfect our faith in the same way as Abraham? Even our little deeds?

Absolutely. Now let’s talk about a little deed which may seem Trivial, but is very relevant to our Christian walk, and it actually gives us the power to cause someone to feel either anger, anxiety or peace and harmony, and I’m going to guess that half of the brethren in this room right now have the opportunity to do this once or twice a week because it involves driving on the freeway.

Imagine we’re driving on the freeway and and there’s a car that needs to merge into our lane. We typically see them before they see us. What we do next can either bring anger, anxiety or peace and harmony. Option number one, if we don’t give them any room to merge in and they’re forced off the road onto the shoulder, we have caused anger for the other driver. Now I know we would never intentionally do that.

Or option number two, let’s say we adjust our speed so that they can merge in front of us but we only give them two inches to spare. Have we done a good deed for that person? Well, we certainly did a deed, but what’s the end result? They’re probably frazzled and anxious from having to squeeze in. But option number three, what if we adjust our speed well in advance so that they can merge into our lane with plenty of room to spare?

The end result? Peace and harmony, and they might even make us feel good by giving us a little wave to say thank you, and because we did that good deed for them, they’re probably going to do it for someone else. Well, what if we see a car up ahead trying to merge, but the car that should be letting them merge is refusing to let them in?

Well, this gives us the opportunity to be a peacemaker because we are going to let them in with a smile and a friendly wave, once again bringing peace and harmony to the freeway. Now there may be times when we adjust our speed so far in advance that they don’t even know we help them. Are we okay with doing a good deed without getting credit or appreciation? Of course, that’s basically the definition of agape love. Doing a good deed but not needing credit.

When we do good deeds, one of three things happens. Either we get appreciation, which feels good to the flesh, or we get no response, good or bad, and sometimes not feeling appreciated can feel bad to the flesh. Or we get persecuted, which definitely does not feel good. But when we are truly liberated from our fleshly motivations, brethren, that puts us on the next level of our Christian walk and empowers us to be even more Christlike.

Our day to day activities. Yes, something as trivial as driving on the freeway provides us with the opportunity to do good deeds and develop the spirit of agape love. Here are some other simple examples of good deeds. Be a good listener. That means actually listen.

And if you want to take it to the next level, listen without judgment.

Do good to someone who did you wrong. After all, Jesus washed Judas feet.

Clean up someone else’s mess.

Give someone a ride to the meeting or the doctor or the grocery store for the one millionth time, and that reminds me of one of the top five secrets to a happy marriage. It says, don’t keep score, just be generous.

If someone is hungry, give them something to eat. If someone is thirsty, give them something to drink. Oh, here’s another one. Borrow one of the brethren’s cell phones and then delete all of their social media apps. You’re doing them a favor.

Okay, we would never do that to someone else. But maybe we should consider our own social media apps, as was mentioned yesterday. Now, some of you might be wondering if simple little deeds count in the eyes of the Lord. After all, shouldn’t they cost us something and be a sacrifice to be considered worthy? Giving our time, money or energy for others is a sacrifice.

Just because we enjoy doing it doesn’t negate it. After all, a sacrifice can also be called an offering. We do not have to suffer for the good deed to count in the eyes of the Lord. Here’s an incorrect translation of Hebrews 13:16. Do great things and give all of your money away to feed the poor, for only by those sacrifices is God pleased.

No, that’s not what it says. Here is the correct translation of Hebrews 13:16. Do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Alright, bottom line, what’s it all about? We should look for opportunities to do good deeds, no matter how small, and we should be motivated by selfless agape love. Why?

Four reasons. Number one, because we are commanded to. Number two, it pleases the Lord. Three, it feels good to do good, and number four, it changes us to be more like Christ.

The little things matter. Sometimes our good deeds cost us a little, sometimes they cost us a lot. The cost is fleshly time, money, energy. But the reward is spiritual and eternal. Let’s close this service with a verse.

Galatians 6:10. Do good unto everyone as you have opportunity, and especially unto the household of faith and brethren. That’s what it’s all about. May the Lord add His blessing.

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