Love in Action

The spectrum of love in action spans from Apathy to Activism, with everything in between. Our role as the people of God is to live out the Third Way – the Kingdom way – the way modeled in the surrendered servant life of Jesus. 

As we seek to become a church that is Christ-centered and Spirit empowered, we should not be surprised when that process involves an alignment with Jesus over an alignment with positions. We should not be surprised when it moves us to engage with the questionable, rather than let our differences define and distance us from others. We should not be surprised when love in action calls us to take action. It should not surprise us that we will move from people who say “I'll pray about that” and then never do, to people who begin their caring with “lets pray”, and then do so. Then and there. 

We should not be surprised that we may find ourselves among those who are questioned or criticized or pushed to take a stance - for true love in action may be simple, but it is never easy. Easy is apathy. Easy is taking positions and digging in. The simple way of Jesus is not easy. It is, however, powerful. Love in action. It is the Kingdom way. It will result in moving people toward Jesus.

 As we hear the story of Jesus being told in our midst, let us ensure that we are among those who see communion with God as our end goal. Let us love with our presence, with our prayers, with our service of others, with our surrendered agendas, and with our hearts set toward reconciliation.

 The words of 1John 3:18 call out to us again today. “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” This is the third way, the Kingdom way. This is true love in action. This is what we were designed for. May we see God glorified as we live out His design in the world.

 This is an excerpt from Pastor Kyla's message on Sunday October 28th, based on Matthew 12:1-13.  If you are interested in the full transcript, please email her today.