In Deed and In Truth

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 ESV)

Whether this is talking about us loving God or it is talking about us loving other humans, this is absolutely the truth that we must hold to as God’s children. But we are only his children if we walk in that love, and if we love God and other humans, and if we forsake our sinful practices to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands in righteous and holy living. But this is not of our own doing. We can only love as God loves because of Jesus’ love for us, and because of God calling us to himself to be his forever.

So, this is not speaking of human love. For human love is based in emotions and feelings and circumstances and in people and in ourselves and in our moods, so it is fickle, and it fluctuates. We cannot depend on human love to always be there for us or in us. But the love this is speaking of is agape love which comes from God, because he is love. And agape love prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands.

So, human love will make many claims of love but which may or may not follow through with those claims. But this is speaking of agape love. We should not promise such love and then have it be lip service only. So, this would mean that we should not promise or claim to prefer what God prefers, and to say with our lips only that our desire is for the Lord and to live for (and through) him, and that we want what he wants for our lives, and that we do want to obey him, and then do the opposite of what we profess.

And the same has to do with loving our spouses. We should not tell our spouses that we love them and then do the opposite. For the love that we are to have for our spouses is not just a mushy-gushy romantic love, but it is this agape love which loves despite what our spouses do. It does what is right even if our spouses do what is wrong. For when we love our spouses with this agape love we are honest, faithful, morally pure, upright, and godly in our actions towards them. We don’t lie to them nor cheat on them.

So, basically, if our words say to God or to other humans, “I love you,” with this agape love, then for our words to be true they must be followed through by our actions. For actions speak louder than words. And this love is not what we feel. It is what we do. But the actions we must do are not to be determined by other humans nor by our culture nor by religious traditions but by the word of God, i.e. by the teachings of Christ and those of his NT apostles. And all of that may not agree with our worldly culture.

For to love as God loves means to speak the truth in love to one another who profess to know and to love God. And it is to speak the truth of the message of the gospel of our salvation to all people and to let them know that we are all born into sin and that we need deliverance from our bondage to sin, and that Jesus Christ, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – came to the earth to give his life up for us on that cross in order to put our sins to death with him so that we might die to sin. And he rose from the dead so that we might live to his righteousness.

And this isn’t the only way that we show love, but it is one of the expressions of agape love that the world or worldly Christians may not receive as love. But it is the ultimate in loving others because it means us putting our own lives and reputations on the line in order to tell others the truth that can save their souls from hell and that can give them the hope of genuine deliverance from slavery to sin so that they can now serve the Lord Jesus with their lives in walks of obedience to him in holy living.

But we are to love in all the ways that Jesus loved, not necessarily in raising people physically from the dead or in physically healing them, but in praying for them, and in doing good to them (as God defines good), and in caring about them and their needs. And in believing God for miracles in their lives, and in sharing with them food and clothing and comfort and time and having them into our homes and listening to them, all of which can be emotionally healing for them… but without neglecting to tell them the truth that can save their lives from hell and to give them the hope of salvation from sin.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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