HOW DO WE SHOW LOVE?

It seems like a simple question, but for Christians, love is a profound, mysterious, and sometimes difficult matter.

The Christian life revolves completely around the idea of love – true love, that is, and not the world’s lust-plagued version of it. Jesus proclaims our call to love as the greatest of all the commandments. He separates this mission into two parts:

1. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mt 12:30)

2. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 12:31)

Now, we can return to our question: How do we show love, for God and for our neighbor? The key word in that question is “show,” because true love is an action, not a feeling. If love was just an impulse or desire that we had no control over, that was forced upon us rather than freely chosen by us, then how could it mean anything for us to love?

The best way can learn how to show love is in coming to know God and how He has shown His love for us. Let’s take another look at Scripture, this time in the first letter of John.

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.” (1 John 4:7-11)

John is telling us two big things here. First, he says that it is God’s very nature to love. Second, he explains that we know this because He proved His great love for us when Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for our sins.

Jesus didn’t have to suffer a life of pain, loneliness, persecution, and agony. But He did anyway, for our sake. Because in doing so, He gave us a bridge to Heaven, the only place where we can experience true freedom and joy forever. He wants that for us!

Through His life and death, Jesus showed us what true love is and what it looks like.

He showed us that love is selfless; it’s not about what we can get from someone for our own benefit, but what we can give of ourselves for someone else’s benefit. He gave us the greatest sign and example of this: His body, bruised and beaten, hanging on the Cross, handed over to the Romans for our salvation.

That is our best model for showing love to God and to our neighbor. To love them, we must endure the sufferings of this life for their sake. To love them, we must give up the desire for our own good and rather focus on their needs.

And above all, to love others as Jesus loves us, we must forgive them, even when they hurt us. Even when they turn away from us. We must echo His cry from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

How do we show love? By acting in the way of Jesus Christ.

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mk 8:34)

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.