Do you really love someone? Let’s see how you act toward that person.
We’ve all heard someone say “Love is an action” or “Love is a verb.” This is nothing new. Love is more than emotion. It’s more than attraction. It’s more than arousal. It’s more than sentiment. It’s more than a song on the radio. It’s more than a Lifetime movie.
The problem many relationships and marriages face today is that we don’t fully understand that love isn’t emotion. If that’s our definition of love, then when the emotion is gone, the love is dead. But love is much deeper, much stronger, and much more important than emotion.
Love is a choice we make. Emotions can’t be commanded or chosen. You can’t always control how you feel or what emotions you experience. Some things make you sad, happy, angry, or afraid, and they’re beyond your control. If you were feeling sad right now and I told you, “Be happy!” you couldn’t just do it right away. You might be able to fake it, but it wouldn’t be real, because emotions don’t work that way.
On the other hand, love is a choice. It can be commanded. 1 John 3:18 says,
“Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.”
Jesus commands that we love each other. He said,
” So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.” (John 13:34 NLT)
When He said that, He was in the middle of explaining that He wouldn’t be physically present on earth much longer. So the legacy that He wanted to leave, to be carried on, is that you and I love each other. Why?
“Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34b-35 NLT)
Two reasons we should love each other:
- Jesus loved us first. We are reacting to His love for us.
- To give proof that our faith and love for God is real. Love is the proof.
You won’t always get along with everyone. You won’t always like everyone. You will disagree, you will be hurt, and you will struggle to do this. It’s not easy, which is probably why Jesus talked about love so much. He knew it would be hard. But the more we experience God’s love for us, the easier it becomes to mirror that love and show it to others.
Love is a verb. It’s a choice. It’s an action. Who will you choose to love today, and how will you show them?
