I remember reading the story of a young boy that would pass several churches to get to D.L. Moody’s church. Of course, this is many years ago, hundreds of years ago. He would pass by a church, walk another block past the church, and then arrive at D.L. Moody’s. One day, a pastor from one of the other churches noticed the young man as he passed by their churches. He stopped the boy and said, “Why is it you pass my church and you pass the next church to go to Moody’s church?” And the little boy simply said, “Because I can tell they really love a fellow down there.”
You know, love is more than lip service. It is a life of service. There’s a Bible verse here in the book of 1 John, and I love what it says in verse 18 of chapter number 3. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Love is anchored in the truth of God’s word. You can’t love right if you’re not saved. You’re not going to love genuinely if God doesn’t reside on the inside. But the love of God has been spread abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost if we’re born again. And that love ought to produce deeds or service works on the behalf of other people.
I want to ask you, are you showing forth and displaying the love of Christ? That is sacrificial love. It is selfless love. It is steadfast love. And the Christian ought to have that moniker. We ought to have that character trait of Christ-like love coming out of our life. Without charity, the Bible says, I am nothing. I am worthless. I am of no use. I have no value in what I am trying to produce from my activity if it is not anchored and motivated by love for Christ, which causes me to love other people. We might go too overboard on some things, but I promise you this: You and I aren’t going to go overboard in the area of loving like the Lord loved.
I want to challenge you today. I want to check my spirit. Why don’t you check your spirit? Why don’t we ask ourselves, “Am I loving folks the way Christ loves me and the way Christ loved others?” I hope this has been a help in your Christian life today.
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