John 3:16 Part 2

GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS LOVE THROUGH ACTION

“For God so loved that world that he gave…” Immediately following God’s declaration of love for the entire world is a description of the action that his love brought about. We see that God demonstrates his love through action. One cannot separate love from action. The two go together hand-in-hand. The presence of love makes action necessary. True love will always manifest itself into action, always. Just as the book of James says that faith without works is dead, love without action simply isn’t love (James 2:14-26). The word love is terribly mistreated today. People use the word love for everything. “Oh I love that song”. “I love that chair”. “Oh I just love that dress”. Very few people realize just how profound God’s perception of love is.

I have found that there are two common misconceptions about love. The first misconception is when love is reduced to a feeling. Love gets reduced to that warm and fuzzy feeling inside when you’re with someone you like. People think that experiencing that kind of feeling equates to love, but love is not merely a feeling. Love goes beyond feelings and brings about action. There is no such thing as love which need not be expressed by action. Love is much more than a feeling. In fact, love sometimes exists without that warm and fuzzy feeling. Only true love endures when the feelings are gone.

The other common misconception is the idea that the only way to show someone you truly love that person is to do something extraordinary, epic and heroic. Love songs are famous for this. You often hear lyrics where the singer says he’ll climb the highest mountain, swim the deepest sea, and cross a barren desert to show his love. Well you know what, all of that isn’t necessary. You don’t have to slay the evil dragon to show people you love them. Love is simple and many times all love requires is simple action. Love is not about what you do on special occasions, but what you choose to do every day. It’s as simple as calling someone you don’t usually call just to say hello and wish that person a good day, or including someone you don’t usually include the next time you hang out with your friends. Oftentimes the littlelest things are great big ways to show love to someone. God could not love the world without doing something to show his love. Let us learn to love in the same way. God demonstrates his love through action and so should we.

Following the Way,
Kevin