“True Love was born in a stable.” This sign sits as a gentle reminder above the fireplace, and as I pause to reflect, the words of the song “When Love Came Down At Christmas Time” come pouring back.
Looking at the Christmas Story, we don’t have to look hard to find true love. God sent His only son to earth to live among us; what greater example of love can you find? During His time on earth, Jesus lived out love and showed us what it looked like to love others actively.
Love, an intense feeling of deep affection, is more than just a feeling. True love is identified by how you act in a relationship with someone. The words “I Love You” are quickly spoken but far more challenging to live. The deepest love requires action to support the words spoken. So what does it look like to live out love in action?
Love in action never gives up.
Love in action cares more for others than for self.
Love in action doesn’t want more than what is theirs.
Love in action doesn’t show off,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the telling of truth,
Puts up with a lot,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
And keeps going to the end.
(adapted from Pauls letters to the Corinthians, The Message)
It might be tempting to take this list of attributes and make a mental checklist. If we love, then we do these things but love is not a list or a set of rules that we must keep. Instead, love is an attitude from the heart, involving both feeling and action.
As we light the fourth candle of Advent, let’s reflect on Love and how we can live the love we say we have with our actions.
- Do we really care for the world in need, even loving the unlovable?
- What is an attribute of Love that is challenging to live out in the ordinary every day?
- What is one small change you can make to help put actions behind the words, ‘I love you’?
Putting Love into action is not a matter of self-sacrifice or pouring ourselves out to depletion. In the book of Mark, we are reminded to “Love others as you Love yourself.” Love in action is a process of learning to love and care for our hearts in a way that allows us to pour out love actively and tangibly. Love in action requires us to pause and consider if the words we quickly say are in line with the things we so often do.
