Thought for the week 16/05/22
Love in Action
“Love must be sincere.” Romans 12:9
What does love look like in action?
Imagine you are married. For some of us this may not require much imagination at all. You say to your partner each day: “Darling, I love you.”
This is a nice, some might say romantic, thing to do.
We all like to be told that we are loved. However, imagine that you repeat these words day after day after day.
“Darling, I love you.”
Which is very nice. However apart from some nice words you rarely do anything else. You leave the kids to run riot. You fail to do any household chores. You expect dinner on the table but do little to get it there. You never buy flowers or little presents. As for birthdays and special dates well…. they are not on your agenda. All in all, your fine words are not accompanied by any actions.
It has been said that love is a verb. Having briefly been awake in an English lesson I seem to recall that a verb is a doing word.
In other words, the word ‘love’ has to be accompanied by actions.
God wants more than fine words from us.
In Romans 12 Paul outlines what love might look like in action.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)
We can tell God that we love him. We can sing the songs and even read the words from the Bible. But if we really love God our fine words must also be accompanied by equally fine actions.
It’s a reminder to us that when Jesus was asked which commandment was the most important, he replied:
“Love then Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Paul wrote:
“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:13)
Which makes me wonder.
Do I truly love God?
And when did I last demonstrate that love?
Keith Wilson, 16/05/2022