Coinciding with the month of love, Bro. Gary of El Shaddai shared his sermon last Sunday, conveying the importance of showing love not just with words and speech, but with action. He cited the bible verse of 1 John 3:13-16, which emphasizes on how to love with action as Jesus did.
Bro. Gary enumerated the ways in which Jesus has shown love for us through His actions. Jesus performed miracles to feed the hungry, He healed the sick, revived the dead, showed compassion and mercy to all people, and He died on the cross to save us from our sins. Through his selfless actions, Jesus showed His love for all of us. We, too, must learn to show our love to God and to our brothers and sisters through our actions in our own unique capacity.
In his sermon, Bro. Gary also talked about steps on how to show God’s love through our actions. 1) Pray to God by telling God that you love him and His creation. Praise and worship him for all His blessings. 2) Do good things. Be kind and generous to your neighbors and those in need. 3) Honor God’s name. Spread the good news of His love to others. 4. Love yourself so that you can love your neighbor. 5. Love your enemies and practice forgiveness and compassion with others.
The action of forgiveness and compassion is arguably the hardest step to follow. To forgive is to have compassion and understanding towards a person who has done you wrong. The action of forgiving someone is challenging especially if that person has significantly caused you pain. We all have our own unique nature, character, and attitude within us, but we are able to change to have a more forgiving and compassionate heart because of God’s love. Through Jesus’ actions, His sensitivity, and His compassion, we see how much He truly loves us. The secret of forgiveness is that we need to totally surrender ourselves to God and follow Jesus’ actions. Jesus was hurt, punished, and nailed on the cross, yet He was able to say, “forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” We all can learn from Jesus to forgive– which is one of the most challenging and rewarding acts of love.
The Letter of James 2:14-22 say, that faith without action is dead. Similarly love without action is dead. Let our love for God be seen through our actions, because actions speak louder than words.
The El Shaddai community is inviting everyone who want to experience the Joy of praising and glorifying God In a charismatic form of worship. Join us every Sunday at 4:00-6:00 at San Anthonio parish.
Put God first, to God be the Glory.
