Have you ever known or experienced someone who was all talk?  Maybe they made big promises or claims but never backed them up? We have all probably fallen short of what we said we will or can do before but for some it becomes a regular occurrence.  John warns us against doing this when it comes to loving others.  It’s one thing to say we love our neighbor but it is another thing to live it out.  Let’s look at his words together today.

11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

There is an older country song called A little less talk and a lot more action.  This is exactly what John is calling us to when it comes to loving others.  It’s amazing the impact small little actions make to a world that has come to expect very little love in their lives.  Letting someone cut you in the grocery line.  Paying for the coffee of the person behind you in line.  Complimenting someone genuinely.  Or bigger actions of serving others that really make a difference.  May we be people of action who follow the example of Jesus and show others our love by how we live.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave