Love is an Action

There's a phrase I've said again and again; I think it is true on a multitude of levels: Love is an action. At different times, and in different scenarios, this has meant different things to me. Sometimes it's mustering up the energy at the end of a long and tiring day to get up and do that one last favor for a loved one. Maybe it means stepping through my own insecurities and self-consciousness to be bold for the benefit of someone in need. Sometimes it's just as simple as doing instead of feeling.

What has recently struck me is the powerful ideas that come to mind when I consider this idea of love being an action in light of God's enormous love for me. He loves us more than we can begin to understand. The enormity of His adoration is beyond that of which we can even conceive! So, what does this mean when it comes to His love being an action.

Well, it helps me understand, in some small way how and why He chose to send His Son. It humbles and overwhelms my heart to think about the loving act of Jesus' death. He didn't just tell us He loved us. He didn't just hope we could make it "okay" through eternity. He stepped in, and He intervened. He put His feet to this dirty earth and not only died for us, but lived for us as well.

And while the act of Salvation is enough to blow my mind, it's moving in a different way for me to realize that His love for me is still alive and active in my life today. He didn't undertake one grand action 2,000 years ago and leave me to my own defenses. God shows up. Jesus restores & heals. Still. Today. In me and in you. These are the actions of love.

I think about the idea of gratitude. It's such a powerful place to focus...all I have to start doing is thinking of my gratitude list as a list of actions God has undertaken on my behalf, motivated by His active and real love for me. Wow. I begin to be overwhelmed by His love again. And it's a wonderful feeling.

I encourage you to put some intention into looking for His active love in your life - it's ALL around us. And, just like in any other relationship, when I focus on the things He does for me out of love, I am drawn closer to His heart and feel more tender to His holy touch. How could that not be worth the tiny bit of energy it takes to pause & notice?