Love Indeed/In Deed

The Bible is so amazing.  I have been reading from and studying the scriptures since I was a little girl and I think that there is still so much to be learned there!  It seems like every day, when I read a “familiar” passage, it has a new impact or a fresh implication in my life.  That is why it is called the Living Word (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23)…it really does interact with our spirits when we read with the promptings of the Holy Spirit within.

So it was with fresh eyes today that I read this passage from 1 John 3:16-18:  We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion–how can God’s love be in that person?  Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other, let us show the truth by our actions.”

I have also been reading through the book of Jeremiah over the past few weeks.  It is so clear from many of the writings of the prophets that God is serious about us taking care of one another as well as the downtrodden.  He was then, and I believe from what I read in the New Testament, he is now!   I have to confess that I have grown complacent in this area and have been content to sympathize with and offer to pray for those around me who are struggling, but I have not shown compassion to them in a more tangible way, like John is talking about here. 

The implication I get from this scripture is that since I have enough money to live well, I should share that with those who are genuinely in need!  There is a homeless woman in my church and I’m confessing here that, although I have the resources to help her in her need, I have not done more than give her my recycling, provide respite shelter for her in hot weather and hugged her and told her I love her and am praying for her.

Somehow, today as I read John’s words here, that seems all too little given the ability God has given me to help her in a more life-changing way in the name of Jesus Christ.   I know that there are a lot of “circumstances” surrounding this particular individual, but I cannot escape the pull I am feeling from God’s Spirit to be a bigger part of the solution for her, my sister in Christ, beyond what I have been doing.  For today, I am going to contact our pastor and enter into a time of prayer over this to follow where I sense God leading me.  Will you pray about this with me?

“By this will all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”  –Jesus Christ