John 13:33-35
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
These verses remind me of the old saying; “Actions speak louder than words”. I’m sure that most of us have used it often, but the sad thing is that although we can see the power of the truth revealed in it, most of us do not live our lives by it at all. We give lip service to a lot of wonderful things and ideals, but most of the time we act in ways that are vastly different to what we so ideally ascribe to.
I think it is true to say that many times the way we act affects our lives more than mere words do. Verbal communication is limited to language, dialect and culture, whereas the language of actions is a universal language that is even understood by other species.
I believe that the church will go far to reconcile people with God and the church if we will only learn to act in ways that are consistent with the Gospel rather than just talking about it.
Jesus our example
When we look at what people said about Jesus’ life on earth, and at what He said, there is no doubt that He loved people and that they felt and experienced His love.
John 13:1
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
John 13:34
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 15:9-12
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
The most amazing thing about Jesus’ ministry is that He understood that the non-verbal communication of actions speak louder than words ever can.
John 15:13
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Although Jesus never once said to any person that He loved them, people around Jesus knew that He loved them and cared about them.
An atmosphere of harmonious and voluntary partnering is far more productive in the kingdom of God than an atmosphere of force, intimidation and fear. This is the atmosphere in which God is able to work in people’s lives, an atmosphere that is conducive to affecting the hearts of people, and not merely changing their behavior.
1 Cor 13:13
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
In our 25 years of ministry there are some things that we have learned, that help us not only to live and enjoy our Christians lives more, but also to help others to do the same.
1] When a person is in love with God, it shows.
- It shows in the way they live their lives, in the way they speak, in the way they relate to other people, and in the way they witness.
2] Being loving, kind, and accepting is more important then being right.
- In order for us to be right all the time we will constantly have to prove others to be wrong. Focusing on God’s love for us and acting that out towards others is so much more important.
3] Money, wealth, and possessions cannot buy peace.
- Prosperity does not ease the pain of loneliness.
- Success and possessions are no substitute for a sense of dignity and worth.
- Money and wealth is meaningless to the person who has a broken heart.
- We were never designed to live apart from peace, love and acceptance.
4] Love, and not time, is the healer of all wounds.
- It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realisation of love (God’s love especially) will dissolve it all. Emmet Fox
