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Preaching through our actions

1 John 3:15 

“Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” 

One thing I’ve really struggled with this year is trying not to sound “preachy”. What I mean is that, once we’ve taken the step to be intentional with our relationship with God, we kind of expect the same with everyone else around us. At least for me, when I see people doing things that they shouldn’t, the first response in my heart is to condemn, and if we are close, I feel inclined to correct them. There is nothing wrong with correcting, in fact, we all should hold each other accountable, but sometimes our words are not always the best way to help someone.  

Communication isn’t limited to words. I believe you can speak to someone without having to say anything. Have you ever heard of the phrase “actions speak louder than words”? Well, I think we should adopt that mindset when it comes to evangelism. We shouldn’t neglect spreading the gospel verbally, but let’s also not underestimate the power of spreading the gospel physically. 

The gospel in a few words is that Jesus died for our sins and that he loves us. But how much more believable will that statement be, if people could truly see the love of God in our lives? Are we living the gospel or are they just empty words we say to people? If we look more closely at the verse, we see the act of “love” is much more than what we say. Our actions dictate our character, and if we are truly representatives of Christ our actions should reflect the same love God shows to us.  

But what does showing love look like? The bible many times gives us a picture of what love is and how it is shown (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) The root of all love is God, and what better love is there than laying down your life? 

From this we can say that love in it’s essence is self-sacrificing. Practically, with every action we do we can ask ourselves “Am I serving others?”, “Am I being self-sacrificing", or am I concerned with my own interests? 

When we show authentic love, we open the accessibility of the gospel. People won’t care about what you have to say until they know you care. So let us start living the gospel more, so that the gospel can be heard more.  

 

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