LOVE ONE ANOTHER WITH ACTS OF SERVICE

LOVE ONE ANOTHER WITH ACTS OF SERVICE

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

Acts of service, is doing things for others that you would want them to do for you. Our Lord and Savior said this: “Therefore, whatever you want people to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12).  You can show your love to others by doing things for them.  Love is not just a feeling, it is action.  “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue only, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

The “Love Language” of “acts of service” is something the Lord Jesus Christ both demonstrated and taught us to do. “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” (John 13:12-14).  Today, in our society, we do not demonstrate or love for each other with this custom,  but there are many ways we can “wash each other’s feet” through loving each other with tangible acts of love and service.

One of the meanings for the Hebrew word for love in the Old Testament is “to give”.  It is more concerned about giving than receiving.  This love isn’t about getting some feeling or satisfaction.  It is about giving devotion and time.  Giving is God’s vehicle of love.  “For God so loved - He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16).  It is not an emotion, but an action.  It is love or kindness toward people and showing people mercy and kindness.

Many people are locked into “gender” gaps and “generational” gaps which identify and limit them in the types of service that they are willing to give to those they love.  For instance, some men will not wash the dishes, because their dads never washed the dishes.  They view that service as something the wife should always do.  Some women feel that it is the husband’s job to take out the trash and wash the car.  

When we allow ourselves to think and live the way our parents did, we limit our capacity to show our love to others with acts of service.  “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” (Philippians 2:3).  Remember there are no rewards for maintaining stereotypes, but there are tremendous benefits to meeting the emotional needs of those you love.  You may do a lot of things right, but if you don’t do it with love, you will not meet the needs of those who need your love. “And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Loving each other with acts of service is not limited to the husband and wife relationships.  This command of “loving one another” applies to our friends, fellow Christian brothers and sisters, children, and grandchildren. It is a love language that should be spoken by each of us to each other.  Love is a choice and cannot be demanded or manipulated.  “Each of us must decide daily to love or not to love each other.  This is true in all our relationships.

One of the best ways to express our love to the Lord is in “acts of service”.  “Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” (Psalms 100:2).  This includes attending worship services, giving, praying, and giving testimonies of His goodness.  “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalms 107:8).   

Below are some simple “acts of service” we can do for each other and the Lord:

1. Be at church to show your love and support for each other and the Lord.
2. Visit the sick and home bound, and those in nursing homes.
3.   Prepare some food for someone who has lost a loved one or who has just had surgery and is at home sick.
4. Use your gifts and abilities to serve the Lord and others within the church. (teaching a class, watching the nursery, sing in the choir, repairing,  cleaning etc.).
5. Find a mission work outside of the church you can devote time to or donate money to help in their work for the Lord.
6. Ask others and the Lord the question: “Is there something I can do for you?”
7. Write a note or make a phone call to let them know you are “there for them”.
8. Invite someone to your home for a meal or take them out and pay for it.

You may feel that no one else has expressed the love language of “acts of service” toward you, and you may question why you should.  Remember, love is something you do because the Lord has already done it for you. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).  Demonstrating your love for others is not a matter of them deserving it or not, it is a matter of God’s grace in you.  “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). Express to your loved ones that it is a way you feel loved when they do things for you.  One practical way to do this is for two people or a family to write down two to three things they can do for each other to make each one feel more loved.  You can show your love for God by showing your love one another in “acts of services”. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  (John 13:35).  It is a testimony to your family, your friends, your church family, and most of all to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7).