be love

1 John 3:18  NLT

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Love is an action word.  It is not seen and just what we say, but it is lived out in what we do.  We've all experienced this on many levels throughout the years, but the fact is many of us missed the very essence of what love does.

Love goes the second mile.  Love does for others when there's no possibility of reward.  Love sees past pain and struggle.  Love forgets worry and embraces acceptance.  Love is a condition of the heart especially after God has gotten hold of us and we gotten a hold of him.  We ought to be radically changed by the love that God had for us.

1 John 4:9  NLT

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

Got spelled his love out on the cross.  We've heard that, we’ve seen that, and we have beat that fact to death throughout all the time we've been in church and talk using our church words.  Yet the world around us is crying out for love spelled out in action and a life lived with character and strength.  That strength comes from a heart that is not trying to get something in return but is trying to give.  Do we have anything to really give others?

Tuesday I got to spend some time with one of my heroes.  Her name is Cheryl, and she has worked with Motor Racing Outreach for many years.  Her work and help have been a huge blessing to our ministry in Martinsville and at so many other places.  Cheryl’s husbands name is Gary, and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his mid 50’s.  It has been a struggle.  As we talked I learned of her struggle more and how I don’t have a clue about the difficultly that she and others go through.

Cheryl told me about the connection her grandchildren have with their grandfather.  It is somewhat a miracle because Gary doesn’t communicate any longer.  He is difficult to deal with some days and struggles all the time.  He rarely speaks and takes all his frustration out on Cheryl.  Her words were hard to hear because he cannot express his love, but she was so clear about her love and caring for her husband.

The picture painted for me through our conversation was about the fact that we have to “be love”.  Don’t just say you love someone.  Be love.  Don’t just pretend to love people.  Be love.  Go out of your way to serve others and don’t worry about what you will get.  Be love.  Cheryl is a great example of love as Gary cannot express the love he has for his wife like he used to express it years ago.

Who is God calling you to love?  Be love to someone today.

1 John 4:19  NLT

We love each other because he loved us first.

Philippians 2:3  NASB

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;