In some ways, this is a continuation of the last post (Being a Better CHRISTian) and in some ways, these thoughts stand alone. This is real life and sometimes that doesn’t make for perfect blog formats.
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It was three boys under the age of ten, at grandma’s, in the early 90s. There were shrill screams of young boys and the bang-thump-bang of a tussle reverberating across the house. “Love. One. Anudder!” followed by the pitter-patter of toddler feet running back-and-forth on the floor of the pier and beam home.
The fighting was my older brothers.
I, a softie now for decades, was yelling “Love one another!” in the way only a four year old could.
I fondly remembered this (or at least the retelling of it through the years) as I found myself reading 1 John 3 this week.
John starts this chapter by appreciating what a special opportunity we have to be considered God’s children. Truly something I think we forget to be thankful for sometimes. How blessed we are to have a loving father who knows us and loves us better than anyone else could.
But then, John gets to the meat of the message and reminds us how important our actions are:
“7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.” (1 John 3:7-10)
IF we are to fulfill our calling to follow Christ, our actions WILL show it. You CAN’T be a Friday night hellion and a Sunday Christian – that, I think we can all identify with pretty easily.
It gets a little hairier (for me at least) when we actually apply this message to our WHOLE lives. Where we shop, what we buy, what we watch, how we treat each other, and how we treat those that believe differently are all instances were maybe we could use a little more intentionality in choosing to live our beliefs.
Last week I mentioned how we should be cognizant of how and where we spend our time and money. Our daily life should speak our values in a non-verbal fashion. This is true, but let’s dive deeper into our actions concerning one another.
John wrote:
“15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 15-18)
Ouch! It is so easy to become jaded to the poor and the begging. How many times have we heard stories of panhandlers who refuse a burger or drive away from a day of begging in a benz? There ARE people who abuse the system, but that is not our concern! We, as Christians, have been charged with helping the widows and orphans. We have been charged with having pity on the less fortunate. MOST IMPORTANTLY we have been charged to take ACTION to show love.
The Message version puts verse 18 a little differently:
“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.”
So, that’s where I am this week. I am remembering toddler Josh’s advice to “Love one anudder!” and remembering to put it to practice.
Lindsey and I are on a journey to foster through CPS as a show of love. We feel that is our calling, our opportunity to love as God loves us. This week though, we are gonna bring eggs to a couple neighbors that we haven’t been doing a great job of loving thus far. I hope ya’ll reach out to friends or family and show God’s love through action too!
Josh
