When We Love Others with Our Actions
“My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring.”- 1 John 3:18
Anyone can say, “I love you,” or, “I will pray for you.” But, let’s be honest, how many times have you told someone that you love them and not showed it by your actions? How many times have you told someone that you would pray for them but forgot? Probably more times than we would like to admit. We should not just say we love someone with words but also show it by our actions.
We can do it by learning from Jesus. He showed the greatest action of love by willingly giving His life to save humans from eternal punishment (John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24). While He was alive, He showed compassion to people by healing them of their diseases, prayed for people who hurt Him, and forgave the men who prosecuted Him (Matthew 9:35-37, Luke 23:34).
We are required by God to show the same action of love to others, even to our enemies or people we are not fond of. What we do for others shows we are God’s child (Luke 6:35-36), especially doing something for someone who we dislike, or feel is unworthy because they have hurt us (Luke 6:27-28). It is easy to show kindness to people who are nice but try doing something nice for a person who is mean and unkind. If we do, it might change the person’s heart and even ours.
Prayer of the day:
Dear heavenly Father,
Our actions show a lot about who we belong to. You allowed Jesus, Your only Son, to die and suffer for us. He willingly gave His life for us so we can spend eternity with You. Jesus was unselfish and showed how much He loved us by His actions. Anyone can say “I love you” but sometimes, it is not enough. Help us to show others that we love them by what we do. There is great power in doing something for someone who is in need. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
