Love is a Verb

, originally uploaded by davidteter.

What does a true follower of Jesus look like? What does he know? How does he think? More importantly, what does a follower of Jesus actually do? How do they live their life? And is their lifestyle any different from the people around them who aren't Christ followers?

Jesus simplified things for us when He said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)

One man had a follow-up question, "Who is my neighbor?" I suppose he thought that he could out-smart Jesus. Bad idea. Don't ever play chess with God...He's the one who created Bobby Fisher in the first place.

Jesus' answer was simple story. A story we call the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-35. Jesus turned conventional wisdom on its head. The hero is a Samaritan. Please understand that Samaritans were hated by the Jews. The racial and religious prejudices ran very deep. They would not have appreciated the irony of the story--the 'good guy" was not a Jew...but a hated Samaritan.

Who was the good neighbor? Not State Farm. The one who showed mercy. Jesus said, "Go and do the same." (v.37)

Following Jesus means "going and doing." Love is a verb. Real love is action...not opinion or theory. Action, pure and simple.

Do you love Jesus? Show me. Do you follow Christ? Live it. Your words alone, my words alone...mean absolutely NOTHING. Talk is cheap. Anybody can do that.

Time and again, the Holy Book we say we reverence tells us to be Do-ers of the Word. Not Know-ers, or Think-ers of the Word. Doers.

Love is a verb. You don't need a fortune cookie or some random so-called lucky numbers to figure it out. You know what to do.

Live the Red,

Mark