Love In Action

"But if anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him? Little children, let us not love in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18)

I am so excited! We have been in meetings this week with the National Women's Ministries Team and also with other National Leaders, planning the strategy to reach the world and to equip our churches to reach their communities and empower people to do what God has called us to do. Much of what we have discussed goes right along with this scripture.

What has He called us to do? He has called us to love! He gives some very explicit commands for loving those around us. In this scripture I feel He has to reprimand us and then speak to us again in order to help us understand what He means.

He starts off with telling us that if we see someone in need, and we have the goods to help them, yet we close our heart to them, how can we say we have the love of God in us? Then I like the way He lovingly speaks to us as little children and tells us how it is to be done, not in thought or speech but in action and truth.

There are some people that are really hard to love. Have you ever met any of those? Any of those in your family? Please don't say their name out loud someone may hear you. I recently heard a pastor's wife saying she really had to pray about some people that she really didn't like and she said she felt better because God told her it was okay, He didn't like them either. Ha!

But no matter even if we don't like some people's actions, attitudes, looks, etc. God commands us to love them. He doesn't suggest it. Love sometimes has to become a choice. We choose to show love to the unloveable. We begin to have LOVE IN ACTION! The words for this week have been we have to become JESUS WITH SKIN ON!

It is one thing for someone to tell you they love you, but a whole other thing for them to show you they love you with their actions. We use the word love so loosely that we forget just how powerful those words should be and how they need to be followed by actions.

We must remember that everything we have is a gift from God and it has been given to us to use for His glory. We must be willing to share ourselves and our blessings with others.

We need to remember times when others have loved us through their kind deeds and actions. How did it make you feel? What do you possess that you can use to minister to someone you know who needs to feel loved today?

There is the old saying, put your money where your mouth is. Well, my challenge for you today is put your actions where your mouth is. It doesn't have to take money, it may just mean a card, a cup of coffee, give away some of your clothes you don't wear, the list is endless.
See yourself each day as JESUS WITH SKIN ON!