Putting Love Into Action

Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

-- Psalm 17:7

When asked by one of the Pharisees--a strict religious sect--to name the greatest of God's laws, Jesus astounded his audience by the simplicity and clarity of his response:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment," Jesus answered. "And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

So in just a few brief sentences, Jesus summarized the core message of Scripture: that God's love, translated into beneficial motivations and actions through our faith in Jesus Christ, is an unstoppable, world-changing force.

This is a difficult concept for many because they equate "love" with that squishy word associated with weddings, chocolates and Valentine's Day. But Jesus wasn't talking about that fleeting, awkward emotion. Instead, he's calling his followers to walk in step with him by putting their love into sincere, tangible action. And this can come in a wide variety of forms--everything from helping an elderly neighbor get their groceries to revealing God's light to total strangers through a prison ministry. It could also translate into changing a co-worker's life by showing him or her how Jesus has changed your own. The possibilities and potential are endless.

How does God demonstrate his love?

There's the famous Bible story of the Prodigal Son, where the loving father welcomed back his wayward--and totally undeserving--child with open arms. Or what about Jesus' parable of the shepherd, who searched tirelessly for a single missing sheep? When he finally found it, he returned it triumphantly to the rest of the flock. Christ also told his disciples about a man who sold all his possessions to buy a field. But it wasn't just any plot of land. Instead, it was one that held buried treasure. The cost to buy the field was staggering, but the man did whatever it took to gain the precious prize.

Those are a few illustrations of how God loves you and me. In fact, he'll go to any length to bring us into his family. John 3:16--perhaps the most famous passage in the New Testament--tells us that God loves the world so much that he gave his only Son (Jesus) so that those who believe in him will have eternal life. God willingly let Jesus suffer and die to pay for our wrongdoings--past, present and future. We rightfully deserve death because of how we've lived our lives and broken our Creator's laws. But God's love offers us joy and happiness if we're only willing to accept it. It was by living on Earth among everyday people and then dying for our sins that Jesus, who was literally God-in-the-flesh, paid the price to redeem us.

The limits of human vocabulary prevent us from fully describing the meaning and implications of how God loves and cherishes his children. We can only skim the surface of this vast and deep ocean. But maybe it's really not that difficult. After all, it takes just three simple words from the book of 1 John to sum it all up: God is Love. And it's when we live out our faith by putting his love into action that we can make all of the difference in the world.