Have you ever taken time to contemplate how you love? How do others know you love them? Is it because you tell them you do? Or is it how you treat them? What do you think? How do you know when someone else loves you? Is it through words or actions?
Let’s just say right up front, there is nothing wrong with telling someone you love them. In fact, it is good to tell them. They need to hear it and you need to express your feelings verbally. Yet, verbally should not be the only way we express our love for one another.
Our loved should be expressed in the same way Jesus expressed His love for His disciples. How did He do that? He did it with actions and speech. Jesus showed them His love by rescuing them from the storm, just as He rescues us from our storms. He gave them wise advice through His teachings, and He does so for us today. He fed them when they were hungry, and He feds us today. He rebuked them when they were wrong, and He rebukes us today as well. But He rebuked them with love and followed it with teaching them appropriately.
We can follow Jesus’ form of expressing love. We can be there during a time of need. We can provide wise advice based on our years of experience or diligent research of a topic. We can feed our loved ones by preparing a meal. We can let them know they are incorrect and provide a correct explanation calmly. All of this should be done with love and compassion. It is not done to build ourselves up or position ourselves above them.
Jesus did not boast about Himself to His disciples. He demonstrated who He is and asked them who they thought He was. He did not lord it over them that He was the Son of God. Instead, he served them. We are also called to be servants, not lords. By being servants of one another, we show the love of Jesus in us to others.
I pray we all love one another. I pray we seek to show our love for others in the same way Jesus showed His love. I pray we serve one another through actions done in love. Show the love of Jesus. Show your love through actions. Love one another. Serve one another in love.
John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Marty Pressey 