What Does Love in Action Really Look Like?
Share
“I love you.” Three simple words that have deep meaning. Some people throw it out like confetti. Others withhold the words, never giving anyone the privilege of being close enough to receive that priceless salutation. But when it comes to what love really means, there are mixed reviews.
For some, it is a feeling of overwhelming need or value of another. For others it is a vow they’ve made before God, not something they fell into but a timeless commitment. And then there are those who are somewhere in between. In time, there is only one view of love that truly lasts.
The Bible has a lot to say about what love really looks like. Love is not a feeling or something you fall into, tripping just enough to reach some magic level in a relationship. The Bible describes it as an action. There are specific things love does and does not do. In this article we will unpack a portion of Scripture that is often called the “love chapter” to discover what love does and doesn’t do. As we look through this passage, consider love for people around you, rather than romantic love.
Love Doesn’t Make Empty Noise
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 1:1-2).
In the Corinthian culture, Paul was teaching that even the gift of speaking in tongues meant nothing if they did not have love. While tongues is not a common gift in this day and age, we do know much about putting on a spiritual show. Take a look into many modern-day churches, and you will see a spectacular presentation put on by man.
The lesson Paul was teaching was that these public displays of gifts was only as valuable as the love in the heart behind it. Love doesn’t make noise just to be noticed, it speaks with purpose and compassion.
Love’s Actions Are Not Empty
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).
There were Corinthians who thought that giving themselves as martyrs could take away their sin. Some Corinthians believed extreme sacrifices would earn them spiritual status or forgiveness. But Paul reminds both them and us that even the most heroic acts of sacrifice are meaningless without genuine love.
Love Does Not Act Selfishly
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
1 Corinthians 13:4 gives us multiple actions that love takes. First love is patient. This means true love is willing to wait.
Love is kind. Kindness is not stagnant or unnoticed. It is intentional and a gift given from one person to another.
Love does not envy or boast. This means love shows grace and uses words and actions to lift the other person rather than self. It celebrates others. It isn’t rude or arrogant. It walks humbly.
Love Brings a Pleasant Presence
“It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
In any relationship, there will always be conflict at some point. The point Paul is making here is that love chooses unity over irritability and holding a grudge. Ask a couple who’s been married for decades what they love most. Some speak with gratitude and others speak with sarcasm. But Scripture tells us that love chooses unity. It gives up the right to be right. It lets go of grudges. Love in action is pleasant.
Love Lasts
“It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:6-8).
Relationships are complicated no matter if it’s a family relationship or a friendship. There are good days and bad days. There are days when everyone is getting along and all is well and sweet. Then there are other days. One or the other is on edge. Things happen. Words are said that shouldn’t be said. One lets the other down. God’s Word says love lasts beyond the bad days. It endures. It’s a choice made in the heart that decides to work through it, enduring until the end.
Love Acts Like a Grown Up
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:9-11).
This might sound too simple, but Paul is expressing the idea that there is a greater purpose than what we see right now. And true love will understand God’s love and be able to live fully in true love with others when the mind is set on Jesus coming back, rather than just what is happening right now.
Paul is reminding us that love matures. It doesn’t stay stuck in childish reactions. As we grow in Christ, our love should grow up too, looking beyond momentary feelings to God’s eternal perspective.
Love Knows Its Value
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13).
Love is not a word to throw around or foolishly flail at all who walk in the room. It is a valuable gift that God gives, and it needs to be shared and stewarded well.
In John 3:16, the Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This was a sacrificial love. The kind that doesn’t ask for anything back and outlives all conflict and selfishness. In 1 John 4:7, we find love only comes from God. Without God, we cannot know love or extend love to others.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7-12).
Love in action isn’t just something we feel. It is something we do.
Love is patient, kind, humble, forgiving, faithful, and sacrificial. It lasts through the worst of days and reflects the heart of God. Lord, help us to love like You.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages
