Practical Demonstration Of Love

I John 3:16-19

An especially troubling aspect of our society is that of child and spousal abuse. Time after time we find the abused saying, “but he really loves me,” and blaming themselves for having messed up. To the other extreme are the people who “love their children too much to discipline them.” Both illustrate how distorted our society’s perception of love has become.

I Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter of the Bible because of the focus on the importance of love. It stresses that without love, good works are meaningless, and then shows that real love demonstrates an attitude of respect and concern, giving numerous illustrations of love’s attitude and actions in various situations. By the same token, I John must be the love book. God is love, and he has set the example of the kind of love we should show to others.

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16)

God demonstrated his love toward us, not when we did what he wanted, but when we were disobeying him, as Romans 5:8 declares. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Our disobedience was not unintentional, we were actively his enemies according to Romans 5:10. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

God laid down his life for us. He gave up his physical life, he allowed himself to be degraded, and abused, as if he were some weak and insignificant unknown. As the song says, he could have called ten thousand angels to set him free, but he endured man’s mistreatment because he loved us, knowing that the vast majority would not appreciate or accept it.

Since this is the example of love we have been given, we ought to be willing to demonstrate the same love for other Christians, even to the point of giving up our own lives. Our pride, our social standing, our comfort must all be of less importance than our love.

When I consider the number of missionaries and pastors who have refused to go to a field or a church unless they could be assured of a certain lifestyle or pay, I realize how much we have deviated from the standard of love depicted in Jesus’ comments when he washed the disciples’ feet. He had humbled himself to do what was considered very demeaning. We ought to be willing to humble ourselves in a similar manner. It was not about a ritual to be performed, but an attitude to be cultivated. John 13:12-17 records the comments.

“So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

One aspect of demonstrating our love is in our sharing with others. Acts 4:32-35 describes the attitude of love and sharing that Christians should demonstrate. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”

John questions how a person who doesn’t show a similar degree of love can even claim to be a Christian. Real love will sacrifice it’s own comfort and pleasure for the sake of others. Love is demonstrated by the actions, not words or gifts or symbols.

“But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” (I John 3:17-19)

It is easy to make a big show of our giving, or our other “good deeds”, like the hypocrites in Matthew 6:1-4. “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” Their giving is hypocritical, to attain their own end, and they deceive themselves most of all. The attitude of giving assures us we really are God’s children.