I've been reading through 1 John this week as part of my devotions. I did a book devotional on 1 John a while back. This time, I'm just working through the Scriptures on my own. One of the main themes of this book is love. Of course, pretty much the central theme of the entire Bible is love...God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for others. Jesus boiled the whole law down to two steps: 1. Love God. 2. Love Others.
So, it seems odd to me that when my non-Christian friends talk about the Christians they know the whole idea of love seems to be missing one of the steps. I had a conversation recently with a friend who said all the Christians he knows are totally in love with God...or the idea of God. He said the part that drives him nuts is that it seems like most of the Christians he knows seem to lack in the area of loving others. This comment struck me right between the eyes because, in all honesty, I sort of think he's right.
How much love are we Christians showing to homosexuals, the homeless, those in prison, those with bigger checking accounts than us, etc? Okay, I know this is a HUGE generalization. And, generalizations really tick me off. But, I'm speaking about myself here. I do a great job of living God. And, I pay a lot of lip-service to loving others. But, when the rubber hits the road, I haven't done much to actually put that love into action. I'm pretty good at speaking out against sin. And, I'm pretty good at speaking out about how we Christians should love the sinner and hate the sin. But, I tend to start stumbling when I get to the issue of actually showing love through compassion, grace, and mercy to those that are in need of the love of our Savior.
As I've read through 1 John this week, I've been struck at the need to start putting my love into action.
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18)
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