Coming Alive in 2025 // Part 4

Living to Love and Serve: Understanding True Christian Love

Christianity at its core is about a love affair with God. This divine relationship isn't just about experiencing God's love - it's about sharing that love with others through meaningful action and service.

What Are the Two Greatest Commandments?

According to Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus gave us two fundamental commandments:

• Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind

• Love your neighbor as yourself

These commandments are equal in importance and form the foundation of Christian living. True Christian love goes beyond mere feelings - it's about choice and action.

What Does Real Christian Love Look Like?

Real Christian love is demonstrated through actions, not just words. As 1 John 3:18-19 teaches, we must show our love through concrete actions that reflect truth. Unfortunately, many Christians struggle with selfishness, which can prevent us from loving others as we should.

How Can We Show Love Through Service?

The parable of the Good Samaritan provides three key principles for loving and serving others:

• See others with compassion

• Take action when you see need

• Help generously without expecting anything in return

Seeing with Compassion

True compassion means looking at others through your heart, not just your eyes. It means moving past prejudices, busy schedules, and personal convenience to truly see those in need.

Taking Action

Love requires movement. When we see someone in need, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone and take action, even if we don't feel qualified or completely prepared.

Helping Generously

Generous help often means sacrificial giving - not just from our excess, but sometimes from our essential resources. This might include our time, money, or energy.

Life Application

This week, challenge yourself to:

• Look for opportunities to show love through action in your daily life

• Practice seeing others with genuine compassion

• Take concrete steps to help someone in need, even if it requires sacrifice

Ask yourself:

• Am I truly seeing others with compassion, or am I too busy with my own agenda?

• How can I move from merely feeling compassion to taking action?

• In what ways am I being selfish with my resources instead of generous?

• What specific steps can I take this week to love and serve others like Jesus would?

Remember: True Christianity isn't measured by what we say, but by how we love and serve others in action.