The Grammar of Love
“Little children, let us love,
not in word or speech,
but in truth and action.”
—
I admit, I struggled to learn grammar in elementary school. I learned that a noun is a word that identifies people, places, or things. A verb is a word that describes an action.
Bear with me, here. This won’t be as difficult as it was in the fifth grade! The word love can be either a noun or a verb. Sometimes people desperately look for the noun love, because they have never experienced the verb love in life. The noun is known through the actions of the verb. We know love, the noun, through the actions of love as a verb.
The writer of the epistles of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John gives a very clear way to know love in 1 John 3:16,18. “We know love by this, that Christ laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another . . . Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”
1st John is very clear on this – we are to love one another through our actions. Being a follower of Jesus is not about what you believe or say. It’s not about your words and thoughts, it’s about your actions. It’s not about what you believe, it’s about acting on what you believe in self-giving love.
Followers of Jesus don’t just talk about their faith in Jesus. They show that faith by their actions. They love one another through what they do, by giving themselves for others, just as Jesus gave himself for them.
Self-giving acts of love are usually common and ordinary, but they can make a huge difference in the life of another person. Love, the noun, is known through love, the verb. The grammar of love is not hard to understand, even for me.
Love as a noun is when you say you will pray for your neighbor who is sick. Love as a verb is when you take her a pot of soup.
Love as a noun is when you feel sorry for someone in physical therapy. Love as a verb is when you go visit that person to encourage them.
Love as a noun is when you have compassion for someone who no longer drives. Love as a verb is when you take her to the grocery store.
Be the presence of Christ for other people. Lay down your lives for one another as Jesus laid down his life for us. That’s what it means to love in truth and in action. When you put aside what is good for you to do what is good for others, you have laid down a part of your life in actions of love.
“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. Let us lay down our lives for one another.”
Questions to Consider
Who needs you to lay down your life for them today?
How can you show love in action for that person?
How can you sacrifice your time and energy to serve that person?
Greg Smith
Legacy Ministry for Older Adults