Key Verse: 1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” American culture has made many people believe that love is no more than a feeling or an emotion. They believe that love is based upon how someone makes you feel and therefore you respond to that feeling with a feeling of your own. This type of emotional couldn’t be farther from how the Bible describes love. The Greek word behind the Bible’s word for love is agape. It is a love not based on feeling, but rather it is a love that is based upon how God sees someone. This type of love is a divine love that originates with God and it is only possible for people to give this type of love if God dwells in their hearts in the person of the Holy Spirit. So our love for others in this world is not based upon if we like them or if we have things in common. Our love for others is simply based upon the fact that God loves them and because of that we should love them as well. However there is still a problem that many of us have in this regard. We say we love people, but our actions show something else entirely. That is the issue that John is calling out at this particular moment in his letter. In 3:16-18, John writes that we must be willing to give to those in need. He even takes it a step farther by stating that those who don’t give to those in need have not truly experienced the love of God. Church, love is an action. If we say we love people but overlook them in their time of need we have adopted the world’s view of love and not God’s view. If we say we love others and mistreat them we are nothing more than hypocrites or liars. Love is much more than an emotion, or a feeling. Love is a choice and it is an action. Find a person that you can give to today and show them the love of Christ by generously giving to them in their time of need. Show your love to others by treating them with respect and honor even when you don’t like that person! Love is an action, and we must love like Jesus does!!
