love in action...

the bible says, love is kind. as we go through, verse by verse, this great chapter on love – 1 corinthians 13 in verse 4b (niv) – the bible says that we need to be kind.

so what is kindness? kindness is love in action. we said earlier that love is not a feeling. it is something you do. it creates feelings. it produces feelings, enormous emotions. but love is not a feeling; it is an action. the bible says that love is kindness in action.

now JESUS once told a story of three men who are traveling on the road from jerusalem to jericho, which is a very notorious road, known for muggers and thieves and they all come upon a crime scene and each of these three men responds to the crime scene in a different way. JESUS says these three men represent your three choices in life. you’re going to go through life with one of three attitudes toward the people around you, particularly the people in pain.

the first attitude is the keep my distance attitude. luke 10.30-31 (tev) says this: there was a man going down from jerusalem to jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, beat him up and left him half dead. it so happened that a priest was going down that road. but when he saw the man he walked on by the other side.

he walked on by the other side. this is the lifestyle of avoidance, or keep my distance. don’t ever get close to people because they might ask you for help. don’t ever get close to people because you might be needed by them. keep all your relationships superficial. keep them shallow. keep people at an arm’s length because if you get close, you might get involved. and if you get involved you might get hurt.

this guy says, i'll just keep my distance and go on my business on the other side of the road.

in your relationships is that your attitude, you keep your distance? that is not love.

just a thought from the front porch…