Let Us Love With Actions

When Carolyn and I moved to Manassas to serve at St. Thomas UMC, I got a call one afternoon that a new member had been involved in a terrible accident. I went to the hospital to find a man close to death. He had a wife and baby, and they were new in our community. To help his wife, I volunteered to take his daughter home with Carolyn and me so she could stay close to her husband.

The next morning he was a little better, and the wife felt like she could go home, so we decided to meet at the church. I brought their baby to church, and while I was waiting for her, I decided the American flag needed to be raised on the flagpole. With her daughter in my arms, I went out to the front of the church and ran the flag up the pole. To my surprise, someone took a picture of me holding the baby while hoisting the American flag. Carolyn and I believed this was the normal way to help someone in need, but those who saw the picture thought this was a random act of kindness.

Jesus spoke a new commandment to “love one another” in John 13:34. This new commandment is really an old one, for God commanded every Israelite to “love their neighbor as themselves.” (Leviticus 19:18) John wants us to model the sacrificial love of Jesus – “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (I John 3:16) John wants us to be loving in our speech and in our actions. (I John 3:18) This kind of love is the clearest evidence that one has new life and is a child of God. John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Loving others will take many forms. It may be taking care of an infant girl, but it can just as easily be preparing a meal for someone who is sick. Loving others might be caring for a parent or loved one who has dementia and can’t even remember our name.

Selfless love requires us to put others’ needs above our own needs. When we see beyond our personal space, step out of our comfort zone to help others and give – especially when we don’t have to give – we’re loving like Jesus.

Prayer – Father, help me to see the needs of others and allow me to be Your hands and feet. Teach me to love as Jesus loved! Amen. 

I John 3:18 – “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 

By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: Adam Nemeroff, Yvette Garcia & Isaac Quesada, courtesy of Unsplash