LOVE IS AN ACTION WORD
Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, loveG26, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
Rather than embracing erotic love, physical pleasures, gluttonous appetites, and miserly wealth, Paul instructed Timothy to run after Christlike, self-sacrificing love. As a pastor, one should embrace the principles that Christ embodied. A pastor should be eager to visit those in hospitals, the bereaved, and those in prison. He/she should reach out to those members in nursing homes or home-found (not home-bound because they are not chained there, but you find them there—It’s a Susanism). Paul gave Timothy explicit instructions considering widows, but today that might include single parents or grandparents caring for their grandchildren. The pastor may not be able to personally minister to each member of the congregation, but he or she should encourage a plan for others to do so. A pastor may, of necessity, delegate these responsibilities. However, he or she needs to lead workers to lovingly minister to those in need. The agápē principle is that we choose to love. It is a love that springs from the heart of God and is relentless and passionate whether our emotions are involved or not. It is not so much loving because as it is loving despite—loving whether the recipient of the love seems worthy or even appreciative or not. No matter what their response is, the godly person continues to demonstrate God’s love. This kind of love comes from an eternal rather than a temporal perspective. Not only paid pastors are called to demonstrate this kind of love. All of us as believers are called to share the love of Jesus with everyone within our circle of influence.
Brainstorm specific ways you can spread the love of Jesus with people you know. If you have children, plan ways to include them in loving deeds to teach them that love is an action word.
Father, infuse us with Your love to the point that we cannot help but let it bubble over effervescently onto others. Help us to love the unlovely exuberantly. Help us to be more like Jesus in loving!