But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
God did not just tell us He loved us and then left it there. As the preceding verse states, God demonstrated, revealed, and validated His love for mankind by allowing Jesus to be crucified, thus bearing the sins of all undeserving people. After showing us the greatest act of love, He now commands us to love others. (1 John 4:11). As we comply to the second greatest command, “love your neighbor” (Mark 12:29-31), it becomes so easy to shake the hand or hug the neck of a fellow Christian and say, “I love you.” However, the love that the Lord requires of us is much more than a verbal acknowledgment. The love which God demands is not a love spoken, but a love shown.
Notice how we are to demonstrate love:
- Giving preference to each other (Romans 12:10)
- Serving one another (Galatians 5:13)
- Putting up with each other’s imperfections (Ephesians 4:2)
- Sacrificing ourselves for our family (Ephesians 5:25)
- Being ready to meet urgent needs of others (Titus 3:14)
- Encourage one another to do good works (Hebrews 10:24)
- Being enthusiastic in expressing our love for each other (1 Peter 1:22)
- Showing compassion for each other (1 Peter 3:8)