Love Does, Love Says

Love Does, that is my life lesson lately. Love in action. I am currently all about service. Babysitting, cooking, laundry and packing for my kids while Dave teaches everything from tiling to dry wall. It is so busy!  There is also time for people I normally don’t get to see. This last weekend I was also able to take someone very special to lunch. She is the daughter of the woman who was one of my closest friends for years who passed 10 years ago. I got the call that Kat was pregnant with twins and  proceeded to cry with her over the phone thinking of how her mother would have loved to have had this call. Although there are a million things I wanted to share/teach etc.,  when I took her to lunch the Lord was very clear that my present role was just to be there and to give her lots of “mom” love. Love Does.

I love what John shares

1 John 3:18 (NLT)

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

My primary love language is verbal. So it is easy for me to say I love you but service takes sacrifice, it takes intentionality and a lot more energy!

Paul agrees.

Romans 12:9-13 (NLT)

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[a] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Love is an action verb. It requires sweat equity. There is no such thing a passive love.

Paul tells us to work hard and serve with enthusiasm and help God’s people when we see a need. Active love may require hard work at times but at others all that is required is simply showing up.

Bob Goff who authored “Love Does” said this; “ there’s a huge power in just being present, being available, to those around you.”

Honoring those around us. Putting their needs before our own. Just being kind even when you are tired. Being ready to help, eager to be hospitable. Making an amazing meal for old friends who don’t expect it. Love in action may look like a missions trip to Cuba or feeding sandwiches to the homeless or tiling someone else’s kitchen. It may mean simply being there and listening.

Whatever form it takes the message is clear: I love you enough to be with you and to do for you when you need me.

James 1:22

22 But be  doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your selves.

Please Lord, help me not to live in delusion about the walk you desire…

So Love Does but Love also Says.

I was praying Monday for a friend before she went to help our mutual friend for a week. Our friend’s husband fell a year ago and has been fully paralyzed since then. We are all believing for the miraculous but lots of help is needed in the meantime. As I prayed for wisdom and  strength the Lord showed me a cloud being seeded. He then said to me that her words would be like seeding a cloud, eventually with enough seed that cloud would produce rain. While practiced widely around the world, the effectiveness of cloud seeding is still a matter of academic debate. However in the spirit it is not a debate at all. When we speak words of faith we are literally seeding in the spirit realm. We are changing the atmosphere with our words. The rain will come! It might be words of encouragement that seed a cloud that rains down joy and confidence on someone’s life or hope to one who feel hopeless.

Love Does and Love speaks. Lord, may we love both in action and with  words of blessing and faith!