Proof Of Love

Proof of Love

Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

Jeremiah 31:3

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Ephesians 3:18-19

What would you think if someone told you he or she loved you but never did anything that showed that he or she cared at all? You would realize pretty soon that these were just empty words or fleeting emotions, but not real love. Love is not just an emotional feeling. Real love is something that is lived out.

Fortunately, God was not content just to tell us that he loves us. His love was lived out for us in ways we could see and experience and know. He proved it when he came to our earth and became one of us, when he touched and healed people, when he pointed out the sin that destroys us. But nothing put God’s love for us on display like Jesus’ death on the cross. Ultimate love was expressed in the ultimate sacrifice—the God of the universe on a cross dying for people who didn’t even care about him or take an interest in him.

On the cross God showed us what it really means to love without limits, expecting nothing in return. He showed us what real love costs. This is our example to follow in loving others beyond just empty words. If we want to love, we need to be prepared to demonstrate—not just discuss—sacrificial love.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What kinds of things keep us from demonstrating love to other people with our actions?

Read Titus 3:4-7. According to these verses, what are the ways God has demonstrated his love toward us?

Who are some people in your world who really need to be loved? How can you show them real love?