Doing Love

I read something cool yesterday as Katie and I were reading "The Jesus Creed; Loving God and Loving Others" by Scot McKnight:

"Love, a term almost indefinable, is unconditional regard for a person that
prompts and shapes behaviors in order to help that person to become what God
desires. Love, when working properly, is both emotion and will, affection and
action."

I like how McKnight says that love "prompts and shapes behaviors", that is, love is action (on the part of the person doing the loving.) It is not a matter of simply saying "I love you" and leaving it at that, as if that is good enough. Biblical love is a matter of acting on, or doing, love.

McKnight, in the first couple chapters of The Jesus Creed, is making the case for Biblical love. He says that the Jews of the Old Testament were taught to "love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" and when Jesus came along, He amended that, or added to it, when answering a question posed by an expert in the law. The question: "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

When Jesus answered, he answered reciting the Jewish Shema, the creed that the Jewish people learned and practiced all their lives, and then added "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these." This was revolutionary because it identified that loving God actually would include loving other people! It was no longer a "God only" idea! You can't love God without also loving those He created.

Obviously Jesus lived these commandments, and taught the principle through words and deeds, and even non-believers would have to admit that. Loving God is not complete if we do not love our neighbor as well. Jesus was always "others focused".

Part of being focused on others means that we aren't focused on ourselves, and when we aren't thinking about ourselves, we are free to put our love into action. Our love for others should manifest itself in ways that serve to help those we love become the person(s) God desires them to be.

How can we help another become the person God wants them to be? The first, and most important thing, is that we should always pray for others. Pray for your friends, family, leaders, and yes, even your enemies. We should always seek to help the neighbor in need, not just wait for something to be obvious, but intentionally look for opportunities to serve. We should always seek to encourage and edify others with kind words (not flattery, flattery is sin because it involves lying, but that's another post for another day) and/or deeds. There are a whole host of ways to "love your neighbor as yourself", just think about how you would like to be loved, then take a step toward that person and love them.

Our pastor pointed out this past Sunday that when you take a step toward another person to love them, it is then we are most like God.