We Need Love Based on Action!

 Love: strong affection, unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others

This week I would like to remind us of just how we need to love one another. Just in case you've forgotten - "love" is an action word. Unfortunately, we just don't see much love in action these days. All you have to do is turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper and you will hear about all kinds of unloving things going on in this world... it's sad, but it's true. If there was love in the world today, things would be totally different.

So let's talk about a few things that love is:

1.  Patient: Love doesn't have a short fuse. When we practice love, we don't easily lose our patience with people. Love never gets angry with others or says "This is your LAST chance to get this right." Love is very patient, it is always willing to wait for God's perfect timing. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, "Charity (love) suffereth long." In other words, Charity, or love in this case, is long suffering, and people who show love are willing to tolerate the shortcomings of others.

2.  Kind: Love speaks softly and is very caring. Love is kind, but it's often tough. "Kindness" doesn't mean that we always have to give people exactly what they want - that's not necessarily kind. Love sometimes means saying no to our children when we know a situation is not right for them. Kindness means telling the truth (nicely, of course) even when it might hurt a friend. It's our love for them that drives us to keep them out of harms way and give them what they need (time, space, more love, etc.) to heal. 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us that, "Love is kind."

3.  Envieth Not: Love is not displeased with the success of others. That's because true love desires the success of others. If we were to list our blessings, we would quickly realize that there is never a need or reason to be jealous and we would / could / should be content with what we have. 1 Corinthians 13-4 reminds us, "Love envieth not."

Simply put, Love is a decision without any conditions or circumstances.

Of course, there's a lot more that I could share about love, but I realized that if we would simply be patient with one another, show kindness to everyone (even if we have to go a little out of our way), and stop wanting what others have, the world could truly be a better place. Remember: if you have questions about what you have vs. what someone else has, just take inventory of your blessings! God is love! So let's learn to love one another not just in words, but in action as well.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!