Love in Deed and Truth

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

I wonder sometimes if Adam and Eve had discussions about love. Though none of us was there (of course), and we have no real way of knowing for sure, I have to think that—like every other couple in the history of the world—it must have come up in conversation a time or two. Also, I have to think that when it did, they, like us, had every bit the struggle in trying to define it, to come to grips with it, and to agree upon what it means in practical terms.
For the most part, we typically do not like to consider the fact that love is something that is practiced rather than something that is simply felt. It is that rare quality that is both emotion and action. It is a sense, a feeling, and a duty. It is something that must be chosen, rather than something that we just happen to fall into. As we discussed a few weeks ago on Sunday morning (from 1 Co 13), love is the “irreducible spiritual gift.” It is that which, literally and in truth, cannot be “reduced.” It is what it is, as so many of us are fond of saying (me included). There is no replacement for love. As an irreducible gift, therefore, we do not “fall into” it anymore than we “fall out” of it. There may be a falling in and a falling out in our relationships, but whatever that “falling” is into or out of, it is ultimately not love.
There is always opportunity to express love to others, both within and without the “household of faith.” Right now is the time for each of us to seek practical, intentional ways in which to love those around us.

–Ricky

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