The Gift of God's LoveSample

Love in Action

Sincere love hates evil and rebellion against God. It shows genuine appreciation and honor for others. It compels us to give to others who are in need, even if it means sacrifice on our part. Sincere love is not selective, but extends to people we find unlovable. It produces compassion that commiserates and celebrates with others.

We show this kind of sincere love in practical ways, even when we would rather do something else. Love in action means raking leaves for an elderly neighbor, babysitting for a single mother, or cooking meals for a bereaved family. It means taking time to share the Gospel with a non-believer, praying with an anxious friend, or encouraging a disheartened neighbor.

Many times, helping others will be inconvenient. The timing will be wrong for our busy schedules. The effort will seem too great for our tired bodies. The cost will be more than we can afford.

But true love involves sacrifice, and there is no better example of this than our Savior. Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12–13).

This kind of altruistic, other-based love may sound impossible to maintain. And in our human strength, it is. We could never pay our “continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8), but God gives us the resources we need to make our payments.

Prayer: God, help me to follow your example of sacrificial loving. Help me demonstrate my love for others in tangible ways. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18).