Love Is A Verb

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

~Romans 12:19-21

Christian life is much different than life in this world. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. We are to live in peace, help others, feed our enemies, and overcome evil by doing good. That may be contrary to the life we had before accepting Christ as our Savior, but that is what the nature of Christ is all about—changing lives by changing our perspective. And when our perspective changes, how we treat others changes. When we treat others the way Jesus treated people, their perspective changes. Christ did not change the lives of those He met by some magic spell, He changed them through love, one life at a time. And He is still doing that through every person who accepts Him as their Savior.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).”

Love is verb, not a noun—not a feeling but an action. Christ showed love to everyone He met. He showed love by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and treating people with respect. That may be contrary to the world we live in, nevertheless, we are commanded to love others the way Christ loves us. It doesn’t mean we have to approve of the way someone is living, but it does mean if we can give them a hand to change their life, we should. Actions will always speak louder than words, and when we act in love, we are fulfilling God’s commands.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:7-11).” 

Read 1 Thessalonians; Weekend Reading 2 Thessalonians

©2018 Marie McGaha