‘How Do I Love You….’

You speaking to spouse:

‘I love you.’

Spouse to you:

‘Oh, I love you, too.’

So how do you SHOW that love? How do you PROVE to your spouse that you do indeed love him/her?

By your ACTIONS. (Love IS an action word.)

Let’s say you had a weekly date night. (This is recommended by many professionals to keep the marriage strong.) Your spouse worked six days a week trying to provide for you. Would you reserve the day s/he had off just for him/her? You would make sure nothing else interfered with your day. You would plan special activities to do together.

How would you feel if your spouse arbitrarily said that s/he was too busy to spend that day with him/her; that s/he needed to change the day or you simply could not be bothered? I mean, you had things to do that were more important than spending this one day with your spouse.

Or, ‘Oh, honey, I know you work that day, but I’m going to start reserving Tuesday as our day together. Since you will be busy, then I will hang out with ____ instead.’ Hmmm, that marriage would not last long, would it?

What if your spouse suddenly started doing things that s/he KNEW irritated you? For example: Leaving wet towels in a pile on the floor. Spending too much at the store. Charging too much on your credit cards so it messes up the budget. Never told you if s/he was bringing someone by the house. Never helping with the kids.

Well, many examples could occur. Would you still think your spouse loved you?

What would you think? Maybe they were having an affair? Found someone else? That they were not staying true to you.

Again, this relationship would not last long if this behavior continued. Love is PROVED through actions, not words.

Now, moving this to the spiritual. Let’s look at these three things in relation to how we show God we love Him.

Time spent –

At the end of Creation week (long before there was a Jewish nation), God set aside a special day of fellowship with man. This was the day, hundreds of years later, as He was trying to re-educate His children, He started by saying, ‘REMEMBER.’ The day is the seventh-day Sabbath.

God says that the Sabbath is the sign that shows He is our Lord who sanctifies us. (Ezek 20:12) ‘Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.’

[Sanctify means to make holy.]

1 Pet 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” *Just as a side note.

Just as if you were to change the day set aside with your spouse, it would not go over well with God to have HIS sanctified day set aside. Yet people think it is totally fine to ‘change’ God’s sanctified day. They think they can choose which day they want to spend with the God of the Universe, who created all things. Hmmm

Don’t cheat on him/her. –

In the Bible, when you are not walking in God’s truth but following counterfeit beliefs, then it is considered ‘cheating.’ This is clearly shown throughout the Old Testament with the experiences of the children of Israel. They would often follow the pagan practices of other countries. This was ‘cheating’ on God.

Let’s take it to the NT. In Revelation, we are given the illustration of the harlot. She is compared to the ‘pure virgin.’ The harlot is accused of all types of sinful behavior. In her hand, she has a glass of wine. This glass represents false doctrines brought into the church. [I’ve addressed this topic many times before.]

When a person follows these false/counterfeit beliefs, unsupported by the WHOLE Bible, then they are ‘cheating’ on God by not holding firm to truth. [The harlot has many daughters also. These are off-shoots that follow the ‘Mother.’ ]

Do things that please him/her. –

John 14:15 “If you love Me, Keep my commandments.”

Straight forward from Jesus’ mouth.

Rev 22: 14 (Describing those in heaven.)

Blessed are they that DO His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Rev 14:12 (Describing those safe from the plagues.)

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

Matt 7: 21-23 (Warning that not all who say, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will be in heaven.)

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

This last reference gives a hint about why this group of people who claim to believe are not going to be allowed into heaven.

‘Ye workers of iniquity.’

Iniquity = sin

What is sin?

1 John 3: 4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

Sin is breaking of God’s law. (Remember John 14:15, Jesus said it is by keeping the law that we prove our love.)

It all comes back to love being an action word.

I could sit and type in verses all day, giving biblical evidence of how important it is to walk in obedience to God’s law of governance. It is by breaking the law that satan got kicked out of heaven.

How do we suppose we can get IN heaven by breaking the same law?

We are not saved BY the law. We are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross. It is obedience that proves that we are saved. Romans 6 and 8 go into great depth on this topic. As does 1 John.

James 2:26 gives another example that just believing, and saying the words, is not enough. Our faith is proved by our actions. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Simply put, there will be no lawbreakers in heaven. Because we are promised that sin (breaking of the law) will not rise again.

This is the time we have to allow God to transform our characters to be a reflection of His. We were created in His image. Sin marred that. When we come to Him, accepting His gift so we can have our sins pardoned, then He will begin work to restore His image, helping us to walk according to His law.

Rom 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

I pray that each reading this will decide to allow God to remake them in His image. That they will prove their love for Him by walking in obedience. That they will be found inside the gate when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Something to think about.