Pastor Rick Warren concludes Chapter 16 of The Purpose Driven Life by asserting that your time is the greatest gift you can give someone. The essence of love is how much we give of ourselves, not what we do or provide for others. Focused attention is the most desired gift of love. When we concentrate so intently on another person, we forget ourselves at that moment. Rick states that we sacrifice ourselves whenever we give our time- and sacrifice is the essence of love. Paul reminds us of Jesus’ sacrificial love in Ephesians 5:2- “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
When is the best time to express love? Now! Procrastination is not a legitimate response, since we don’t know how long we’ll have the opportunity to express our love. The author concludes:
“The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.”
