Love Is A Verb
“On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me.” -John 14:31
How does the world know that we love God? Obedience.
Love is an action, not a feeling. Jesus tells us that the reason He obeys the Father is to show the world that He loves Him. Do you think He felt like enduring what He endured on the cross? I think not. But He loves God, and the way that He showed His love for God was by acting, by obeying, and by doing what was asked of Him. He did not show His love for God just by feeling it.
So how do we show our love for God? The same way Jesus did. We act. We obey. We live like Jesus.
What does that mean? What does it mean to live like Jesus? How did Jesus live?
“... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Matthew 20:28
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10:45
“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.” -John 13:14-15
How do we live like Jesus? By becoming servants. Jesus came to serve others, and if we are going to live like Jesus, we must serve others too. It is not enough just to believe. Jesus didn’t stop at believing, and we can’t stop at believing either. We must act if we truly want to live like Jesus and love like Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:13 says, “And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak.”
Did you notice that verse did not end with belief? It ended with an action. If there’s no action, you’re not done.
So, how do we act? How do we become servants? Here are a few suggestions:
1 - Ask God to share what breaks His heart with you.
One of the songs we learned at camp last week has a line in it that says, “Show me what’s breaking Your heart, even if it messes me up.” Give God permission to mess you up by showing you what breaks His heart. There is a passion inside each of us that was placed there by God Himself for the purpose of messing us up and revealing a piece of God’s heart that is breaking. Maybe it’s homelessness for you. Maybe it’s hunger. Maybe it’s foster care. Who knows, maybe it’s sea turtles. I don’t know what your passion is. All I know is that you have one, whether it has been revealed to you or not. That passion is God’s way of sharing what breaks His heart with you. It is His way of messing you up so that you are moved to action.
2 - Ask God to reveal your giftings to you if He hasn’t already.
“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” -1 Peter 4:10
God has given each of us gifts and talents that are specific to us. Ask Him to show you what yours are if you don’t know and then ask Him to show you how to use those gifts to serve others in His name.
3 - Don’t forget to armor up every morning and go to the Source for a refill every night.
Pouring yourself out for others on a regular basis is exhausting. The enemy will come for us in our weakness if we are not careful. You must be intentional about staying in God’s word and sitting in His presence every day. His word is what strengthens you and give you the tools you need to fight against the enemy (Matthew 4:1-11). Sitting in His presence is what refills and replenishes your soul so that you can get the rest that you need to keep going (Exodus 33:14). “ Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” -Galatians 6:9
Living like Jesus is not just believing what He says, reading your Bible, and praying. Those are all good things and necessary for success when it comes to living like Jesus, but if we truly want to live like Jesus, we must become servants. We cannot be true ambassadors of Christ if we are not serving others. Serving is what Jesus was all about. Serving was a lifestyle for Him. Did He always feel like it? Probably not. But He knew that love is an action, and if He was going to show the world what true love for God looked like, He was going to have to act. He knew what broke God’s heart, and He used the gifts that God gave Him to act on behalf of those things. It’s time for us to do the same.