Love is a Verb!
A devotional reflecting on God’s call to us to walk in love and that our actions are to show love to others. Love is a Verb!
SCRIPTURE:
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we[a]have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
—2 John 6-11—
THOUGHT:
LOVE IS A VERB. The books that John wrote, or at least the evidence seems to correlate with John having written them, are my favorite books in the Bible. The Gospel of John is different than all the others gospels in its content and goal and prose. The Books of 1, 2, 3, John are so symbolic with many references and themes of light and truth and love. The above scripture is one that really hits home with me because it does not speak of love as a noun, but as a verb. We cannot truly give or receive love unless it is a verb. To speak of love as an entity or a thing or a place is not clearly defining it. In fact, in and of itself, love cannot even exist alone. Someone cannot love someone else unless there is an action of compassion or feeling or need or……some type of “doing” and or a receiver.
That is what makes love so amazing! It doesn’t just sit there. It is vibrant, ever-changing, always fluid in its purpose. Even if someone is gone, for whatever reason, the love is not null and void. The love that lives in our hearts for someone, even if they are not physically present, can be fluid enough to be given to a new person or to a new cause. In fact, I believe love searches out a place somewhere in someone’s life and heart and spirit. That love can be utilized to demonstrate compassion and understanding for others. Love cannot just “be”, but almost requires a place to do its work. In the scripture above, we are commanded to “walk” in love. Not sit, not stand, not exist….but to walk in love. Verb.
Recently, in the midst of our pandemic situation, I had the experience of losing someone. Not to death thankfully, but to life’s circumstances. After experiencing the normal emotions of sadness, anger, and then a touch of grief, I had to decide what to do with what was left. The love does not die. Of course, you can let it go and pretend not to care. Yet, it is not what love is made for – it is made to be a living, breathing, feeling….VERB. Very recently, a friend told me that I can believe in my grief and live my life with the lies that Satan creates to incarcerate me and my love. Or…I can determine to call him a liar, as we all know him to be, and take the love that was seemingly changed, to create a new normal. I can grasp that love and do the best I can to help and care for and love others. It doesn’t change the love I had before, that’s the verb part. It keeps thriving and surviving, just in a different form. The friend I lost is still loved. Yet, my determination to keep going and love in a new situation, regardless of what Satan does, is a surviving and thriving love as well. In fact, now it is multiplied. Two times two is still four even if I add another number. Two times two times two is eight, but it doesn’t change the original equation. Just a different mindset and form.
Jesus’ Love for us was a verb. He didn’t come and conquer evil. Evil still exists. It can be a pandemic, unemployment, pain, etc. Yet, His Love showed us and taught us how to really love Him and others. His Resurrection is a sign of rebirth of love. “Where o death is thy sting?”. It has changed. Death is no longer viable to those who learn how to love as a verb. We too, if we learn how to love amidst all situations, will live forever.
PRAYER:
Dear Father, please hear our prayers to help everyone involved in the pandemic. We ask for your help. We are reaching out to You in love. We will try our best to walk in your commands. We will rebuke Satan’s lies. We will use what we learn from Your Word to strengthen us and to teach us how to love. We will reach out to others, do the best job we can, and be the verbs on earth, trying our best to exemplify Jesus’ sacrifice for all of us.
AMEN.
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