Pastor's Corner: Love in action

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." (John 3:16-18) The Message Bible.

True self-denying love is unknowable apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The apostle John does not bother with theoretical definitions; rather, he grounds the concept of love in the historical event of Jesus' death. To know love is to experience Christ's death by sacrificially loving others. Knowledge of God's love is expressed and verified through giving ourselves and our material possessions to those who need them. Love is not conveyed in words, but "with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). We are to love our neighbors in a sacrificial way.

Our pastoral life in the church aims to share an authentic love that draws humanity and God together. Such love is not a feeling; it is an act of the will. Jesus never said that we were to like our neighbors; but he did say that we were to act on our neighbor's good. And who is our neighbor? Anyone in need, even and perhaps especially those we do not like, those from whom we are estranged. Jesus does not exhort us to wait for an emotional feeling. As a matter of fact, mature believers do not let their emotions control them; they control their emotions. The pastoral love to which we are called is an active caring and concern for the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of our neighbors.

Such pastoral love is unconditional, that is it is given on the basis of need and not on the basis of deserving. It is unconditional also in the sense that it given regardless of the response of the recipient, that is, it is given freely without any expectation of gain. And it is sacrificial, which may mean giving one's life for another, but it may also mean the willingness to sacrifice our ideas for the sake of harmony in the church. ... And last, it is the result of a rational decision. True love is not sentimental concern, but the result of hard moral thinking. It is an act of the will.

Deeds speak more eloquently than "a million words." A million words do not substitute for a single deed for the neighbor's good. It is in the actual living of life, not merely in pleasant words, that good works are done. Those who are wise and self-disciplined, or who at least seek to be such, demonstrate that fact by living what they profess. This actual 'living out' is far more decisive than simply teaching others concepts. For someone who lives in a humble and wise way will give more evidence of God's power than any number of wise words could ever do.

Lord, I want to be wise; help me to put actions behind my words. Help me to love with action and in truth so that your power will be evident to all. Amen.

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Pastor Michael O'Hearn

Hi-Line Lutheran Churches