How would you describe love to a person?  Would you agree that love is not as easy to explain as it is to show by actions?  Have you ever heard it said of a couple,  “They are so in love.”  Wouldn’t this statement be due to their actions toward each other?  Love is the greatest attribute in the Christian life.  Without love everything else is worthless and of no real value.  Love is the only part of the Christian life that will go on forever.  Faith will cease when it gives way to sight, hope will cease when we have that which we’ve hoped for, but love will never cease. That is why in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13 it states “The greatest of these is love.”   Love is where you are to abide or live.  It should be your address when someone is looking you up. The address known by all the town folks and especially your neighbors.   Think about this for a moment……Jesus had no place in which to call His own, yet people always knew where to find Him – thousands upon thousands of people.  His address was not a physical place; it was the address of His heart.   Just ask those who were in his presence. After visiting with Jesus, many went away never to be the same.  They were fed, healed, forgiven, and changed in ways that would effect them for all eternity.   Jesus loves and loved in all His actions…..all the way to the cross.  He showed us glimpses of His Father everyday that He lived upon this earth.  So how might we do the same in showing God’s love toward people.    

BE GENUINE:

This type of love is seen and is shown by actions rather than talk.  The old adage, “Actions speak louder than words” would apply here.  This is not a love that loves for what it can receive in return, but rather a love that honors God with much glory.   

We will do what we deem important in our life.  If we desire to love others more than anything else, we will do so.  Keep in mind loving can be hard work especially when dealing with someone that might be hard to love.  Remember how God loved us as an example of how we are to love others.  God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV

Obviously this is not a physical address but the address of your heart.  It is where people know you live in your Christian walk.  How are you known by others in your daily living?  When talking about your church or looking for a church, do you seek or talk about what the church offers or where you can best serve?  This simple question may help in giving you insight to the address of your heart.  Remember this- it would have been far for comfortable for Jesus to stay in heaven.  But he came to earth to serve not be served.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Mark 10:45 ESV    Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13 ESV  God is Love, and this fact will never be affected by man’s views or opinions.   His Son made this clear in the way He lived…….it was the address of His heart.  It was where He lived, and it is the same address we should have in our lives today when going by the name Christian. 

By His Grace ~ Pastor David