True Love In Action

Love is transcendent. Maybe the greatest revelation of love is when it rises above self-preservation. Most people will say that they have love, but when it is put to the test, it usually defaults to love of self, at least more than love for others. This is why today it isn’t uncommon for a mother or a father to abandon their children. If you were to ask them if they had love for their own, they’d likely answer, “Yes, of course, how dare you even ask.” However, as J. Vernon McGee once said, “Your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”

If there’s one thing the Bible teaches us about love, it’s that, if it is truly from God, it bears remarkable fruit in the lives of others. Do you see that last word in the previous sentence? Others. True love (I’ll refer to it plainly from here on out as simply “love”) expresses itself in a way that is never void of sentimental affection towards those around it.

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
If you require more detail on godly love, I encourage you to stop here and return after reading 1 Corinthians 13. The Word of God reveals that love is not as the world portrays it. The world treats it with disregard, as nothing more than a bargaining chip. Love in the world is devoid of intrinsic care for others. In fact, the human flesh’s version of love is completely selfish. But here’s the thing...we may never be able to differentiate between the two until that moment in time when it is put to the test. Talk is cheap, as they say.

You might be asking, “Well, what’s a good example of love?” Luckily for us, the Bible is chock-full of examples. Let’s begin with David’s love for the brethren.

Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”
Love takes responsibility for itself. David was less concerned about his own welfare than the welfare of those he loved. Love is protective of others. It strains to ensure their well-being, even if it means a stricter punishment on itself. The Apostle Paul was the same way.

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Guilty people have earned their judgement and any punishment that goes along with it. It is righteous to expect that God will administer justice perfectly, cursing those who have offended His holiness. Love seeks to stand in-between the guilty party and their Judge. It seems almost audacious to ask the holy, sovereign God of the Universe to regard such a request as acceptable; yet, He does just that. It’s the same pattern He enacted within Himself when He sent Jesus to stand in our place. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

This love is unmistakable, not because it rolls off of the tongue so effectively; but rather, because it’s selfless, even when unspoken. Under extreme duress, the average person saves themselves. It is the uncommon person equipped with godly love who sees past the chaotic threats of personal harm and seeks to save others. Perfect evidence of this, of course is the Cross of Jesus Christ. For us believers, it is revealed in our hearts.

We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
Stephen was an early disciple of Jesus, “full of grace and power, [he] was performing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). The Spirit of Christ was with him, encouraging him through the love that was in his heart - a profound love for others. As is often the case, worldly lovers rejected his love because it was threatening to them (You might be able to recount times when your love was rejected - this is why: selfless love is like a bright lamp that reveals the ugliness of selfish love. So, selfish lovers will try to extinguish your love, even when it is seeking to help them). Case in point, unbelievers killed Stephen.

They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen is what we call in theology, a “type” of Christ. A type is a prophetic symbol representative of some quality of something or someone else. Stephen revealed the very heart of Jesus while he was being murdered for speaking the truth by saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (v60). Sound familiar?

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
Jesus Christ is the greatest illustration of true love in action. He was perfect; and yet He placed Himself under such intense pressure for the sake of others that He literally sweat blood (Luke 22:44)! He knew that He was born to die, and He chose to become a man anyway. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:17-18a). His life is a testimony to God’s love.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Others. Love always accounts for others. It protects, it serves, it lays down all that it has for others. True love is selfless. It seeks to heal, to edify, to make right. It is righteous always. It is the purest of all emotions, though it is never dominated by emotionalism. It is divorced from the world and yet it dives headlong into the lion’s den to share The Good News with it. It is fearless, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a). It is bold before God, ready to sacrifice, willing to substitute itself to save another. It has no boundaries, no reservations about how to express itself. When called to action, it simply acts, transcending all human reason and venturing into the divine.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins