Do you know what the Bible says?
1Jn 3:17 KJV “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Uh oh. Convicted. Yes, me. I love to say the words. I love you. And, if the truth be know, I love to help people and dogs. I love to love the Lord, and I aspire to love my neighbor as myself. But guess what? I am much better at saying the words than at standing behind them. That’s the truth. Oh sure, I love to help those in dire need. But catch me when I’m tired, catch me when I’m lazy, catch me when I’m thinking too much about myself to see the one in need on the other side of the street, around the corner, or right in front of my face. Better yet, catch me when the person who needs my help just hurt me, rejected me, abandoned me, neglected me, forgot about me, or refused to love me. Ouch. It’s true. I have a long, long way to go in loving.
Oh heaven’s yes, I will say “I love you” just as quick as anyone else – maybe even quicker. But the Lord doesn’t want me to stop at saying the words. In fact, He may not even ask me to say the words at all. But He absolutely, positively wants me to love – in deed.
Indeed. In deed. In action.
Lord Jesus. Help me to love. Help me to go beyond words. Help me to abide in you. Abide in me, Lord Jesus. Fill me with your love. Fill me with your holiness. Transform me. Purge from my heart and life all that you desire to be gone. Replace it with more and more of you, my precious Savior. I love you, Lord Jesus. But that is not enough. You want me to obey you. Help me to obey you. Help me to love. Amen.