This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
1 John 3:16
Love Is an Action
Daily Devotion – April 29, 2024
Devotion based on 1 John 3:16
See series: Devotions
What is love? Ask a doctor, and they will tell you love is a result of fluctuating testosterone and estrogen levels. Ask a poet, and they will tell you that love is an emotion or a feeling. Ask a philosopher, and they will tell you that love is a construct of your mind. What about you? How would you define love? How you answer the question likely depends on which season of life you are in. A young person may start stammering about sweating palms, a racing heart, and a fluttering feeling in their stomach. A mature person may engage in a sensible discussion about faithfulness, commitment, and responsibility. An older person may wistfully reflect on something that is both comfortable and familiar.
Doctors discuss it, poets sing about it, and philosophers analyze it. Young people are afflicted with it, the mature are obligated by it, and the elderly tolerate it. We do our best to define and describe it, but it doesn’t seem like we really know what love is.
Jesus Christ did not define his love for you with a discussion of hormones, emotions, or thoughts. He did not describe his love for you from a personal perspective, rather, Jesus showed you his love with his actions. He did something that personally cost him dearly but benefits you eternally. He laid down his life for you. He paid the price for your sins so that you could be in a right relationship with God. As the apostle John wrote, “This is how we know what love is.”
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for showing me that love is an action. As I think about my Savior, who laid down his life for me, I am no longer content to define or describe love. Lord, strengthen me as I show that I know what love is by my actions. Amen.
