Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18
Such a simple verse, yet it holds such a powerful, but neglected truth. I say that because it seems as if I hear people belting out phrases like, God is love, or Jesus loves you as if they are a cure all in and of themselves. Granted they could be if everyone could experience them as the one saying it does, but many have had much darker experiences to filter such phrases through. How can the brokenhearted ever believe in the healing power of divine love when a majority that they have experienced in the name of human love has been tainted by impatience, unkindness, rudeness, criticism, selfishness, abuse, and usury? This is precisely why John urges us to not rely on mere words, but to show people what love really means through action.
This all became rather poignant to me with my last live performance drawing that I have below. It deals with the subject of brokenness. It’s a drawing that seemed to strike a chord with a lot of people rather deeply within my church. For even they were in need of something deeper than mere platitude. Which begs the question, how much more true is that outside the church? Yet, if we are failing to bear one another’s burdens within the church (gal 6:2) what are the odds of us reaching anyone beyond the church as true disciples should? Can we truly call ourselves loving and Christ like if we are blind to this reality?
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