| “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” |
| —1 John 3:18 |
In pursuing someone that we may love, we all learn the lesson early that it’s simply not enough to merely say we love that person. We have to make a genuine effort to show our love—to demonstrate it—in as tangible a way as possible.
Because we who follow in the footsteps of Jesus recognize that, as His ambassadors, we must demonstrate His love, we must face the question: “How can we best show God’s love to others?” The Apostle John offers some words of advice in 1 John 3:18:
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
We show God’s love by how we act toward others—not in a false way, but in the most truthful way possible. This has become increasingly difficult in a society where we observe behaviors with which we may not agree because we believe such behaviors are sinful. Yet, Jesus treated sinners with love and compassion in the hope that He might draw them irresistibly into His mercy, grace, and love.
That’s a good pattern for us, as we begin a new day. No matter what we may think about the particular behavior of others, our charge is to demonstrate the love of God to them with compassion and also with truth.
A well-known pastor was once asked how his church would respond to people who had chosen a lifestyle that differed with his Evangelical Christian beliefs. He answered, “We will welcome them with love and kindness, but we will not affirm their behavior.”
That sounds like a very difficult, even challenging, way to live. But, isn’t that exactly what the Apostle John suggested in the verse above? No one has ever said that living for Jesus would be easy—just that it would be the most blessing-filled way of life.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, June 8, 2017
