“I love you.” Those three words are said billions of times each day in hundreds of different languages, but what does it really mean to “love” someone? Well, love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection towards something or someone, and it is that feeling that we are commanded to be filled with.
1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Love is far more than just some words on a card that says “I love you.” It is more than just saying the words “I love you.” Words are simple and easy to say, but it is when those words are backed up by proof that they actually mean something.
Someone may suffer a great loss, such as when a person’s house burns down and they lose everything in the fire, and friends or neighbors in the community will all help them start to rebuild what they lost. Each of them may contribute something, maybe one person will give them furniture or other things to put into a new home, maybe another person might go out and put up signs to try to get people to donate money to them to help with the cost of rebuilding. You see, it is the true love for their friend and neighbor that causes them all to go into action, and help them out. It is evident by everyone’s acts.
In the time just before Jesus was crucified, remember what Peter had done? Peter had denied knowing the Lord three times, but after Jesus was risen, what did He say to Peter?
John 21:15-17 “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and told Him to do something that showed his love. He told Peter to feed His sheep, to help others to grow in the faith. Jesus knew that Peter loved Him, but He wanted Peter to show it through his deeds.
When you love Jesus you will seek to do things that show your love for Him. You will be obedient to the teachings in the Bible. Your faith in and love for Christ will have an action in your life, and you will be moved to show that love in your life.
John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
I once heard about a story of a group of soldiers fighting in a war, when one day they were engaged in a firefight when a grenade got thrown into the room they were fighting in. Immediately, one of the soldiers leapt up and threw himself on top of that grenade to protect his squad, his body absorbing the entire explosion, however, instantly killing him. In that act that man showed his love for his friends, all so that they would live. The only way that any of them were going to survive was if one of them made the decision to give up their own life to save the others.
Jesus did this when He allowed Himself to die on the cross. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world, giving His own life for our sins so that we can be saved from eternal death. Even before any of us became Christians, Jesus did this amazing act of love, offering us forgiveness. Jesus’ love for the world is shown by what He did for us on the cross. Jesus didn’t just say, I love you, and that was it. His love was shown by His deeds.
Those four letters, l-o-v-e mean so much when they have an action to back them up. The next time that you tell someone that you love them, remember what it really means. Don’t just tell them, show them!
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 