Loving first With Our Heart, and Then With Our Hands

Author: May Patterson

The traffic was horrendous, but my attitude was even worse. I sped down the road angrily, feeling overwhelmed. Earlier in the day, when I was in a better mood, I had offered to bring some soup to a sick friend from church. As usual, I had overpromised and overscheduled. The kids had practices and of course, one of them had left one shoe behind—who remembers one shoe and forgets the other?

We ran by the house, got the shoe and raced toward practice, but could only go about 20 miles an hour due to repaving work. I could see and feel the clear waves of heat rising from the hot asphalt nearby (and from my head). The car in front of me had a bumper sticker that said, “Not enjoying my exhaust? Then back off!”

I decided to tail it even closer.

I felt dangerously explosive when I finally pulled in late to football practice.

Once I let my boys out, I sped to my friend’s house. For a crazy moment, I considered throwing the container of soup out of my window toward her front door

without stopping. How dare she get sick and cause me such trouble?

I still had to get to dance practice and cook my own supper.

I left the car running and ran up to her front door with the soup. I said, “Hope you enjoy it, I’ve got to run.” She thanked me and asked me to call her when I could. In the middle of the night a few weeks later, I remembered that I never called.

I never gave her another thought.

Ever had one of those days (or one of those years)? Long on good intentions, but a bit short on love? I let my friend down, because I brought soup and checked the “good friend box,” instead of skipping the soup and sitting with her and listening.

Often, our idea of Christian love translates into bringing soup or a casserole (at least in the South). Love can be mistaken for a warm greeting or for working a volunteer shift. It’s possible to confuse loving with sending a generic greeting card or text. These things are good, but deeds do not constitute true relational love. That kind of love takes time and effort. It requires some conversations that go deeper than the weather, or the news, or even SEC football.

Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” Loving well requires listening, asking questions, sacrificing and showing respect. This is how we should love others:

First with our heart, and then with our hands.

Peter said, “…Show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.” (1 Peter 1:22) This really challenges me to love better than I do. It challenges me to take time, instead of taking soup, unless I can do both.

While we can’t do this with everyone, we can do this for someone. We start with those that are closest to us, and move from there to the family of Christ and beyond. Paul said it this way: “Make good use of every opportunity you have [to love], because these are evil days.” (Eph. 5:16, paraphrase mine)

So today, let’s remember to love first with our heart, and then with our hands—because that is the way God loves.

Prayer:

Lord, you love us so well. Teach us how to love like that. Help us to practice love as we practice good deeds. Give us the desire to truly know and appreciate one another, loving deeply from the heart. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Identify situations where you may have practiced deeds without practicing love. What can you do to change that?

2. Think of specific ways you can show love to others this week.

Treasure Hunt:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8

“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:19-21

Faith In Action:

This week, meditate on the love of God each day. Pray to find new and deeper ways to love those who are closest to you.

Author~ May Patterson

May Patterson, author of the book A Time to Seek, began writing in response to God’s grace. And by His grace, she has written magazine articles, Bible studies, and spoken at a variety of events. Her desire is to help people draw closer to God. May is married to her dear friend Mike and they have three grown children. She has a great love for the outdoors, travel and blogging at http://maypatterson.tumblr.com

Tags: Huntsville, May Patterson, Our City On A Hill, Soul Food