Summary: Jesus taught our ultimate purpose to be, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shalt love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 22:28-29 All of God’s blessings and purposes will follow after we love God supremely.

Discussion: God’s ultimate purpose is to restore mankind back to Himself and erase all the effects of sin. Let us always align ourselves with God’s purposes. 

When man was created in God’s image with similar mental powers of reason, memory, judgment, will and with moral qualities of justice and love, man was the happy. He was in harmony with God. Adam and Eve were children of God.

God “created all things, and for His pleasure” (Revelation 4:11). As with any earthly father, God finds pleasure in dispensing his blessings and showing love. John 17:3 (NKJV), “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

But sin entered the world bringing fear, impaired reasoning, prejudice, jealousy, sickness, etc. and eventually death. We are well familiar with these things. These effects will be eliminated for the Apostle John wrote,  “There shall be no more curse.” (Revelation 22:3)

In Ephesians 1:9, 10 (Weymouth) we read, “He made known to us the secret of His will. And this is in harmony with God's merciful purpose for the government of the world when the times are ripe for it–the purpose which He has cherished in His own mind of restoring the whole creation to find its one Head in Christ…

Finding its “one Head in Christ” would bring all back into harmony with God accomplished through a restoration. This also implies a resurrection. One advantage that resurrected mankind will have is their experience with sin and its bitter fruitage. All will have a greater appreciation for living in harmony with God

So, let us strive now to begin to love God with our whole being. Let us conform our lives to living in God’s wise, loving will. As a result, “You (God) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)