Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. –1 John 3:18
Your actions will speak much louder than any words you will ever say. When you call yourself a Christian, you are opening your life up for inspection, and your life becomes an active witness for Jesus Christ. The positive news is that people will respond to your good deeds and thoughtful acts of caring. In fact, people will want to know more about the Savior you love, as your deeds prove to them that your faith is more walk than talk. Here’s a story with an important message:
One morning, shortly after the end of World War II, a soldier was making his way back to his barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and walked quietly over to where the little fellow was standing. Through the steamed-up window he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight groan as he watched the cook place them onto the glass-enclosed counter ever so carefully.
The soldier’s heart went out to the nameless orphan as he stood beside him. “Son…would you like some of those?” The boy was startled.
“Oh, yeah…I would!”
The soldier stepped inside and bought a dozen, put them in a bag, and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply: “Here you are.” As he turned to walk awa,y he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly:
“Mister. . . are you God?”
We are never more like God than when we give.
“God so loved the world, that He gave. . .” *
GOING DEEPER:
1. Words can be powerful, but how much more powerful can they be if they are backed up with actions?
2. What act of kindness or gift of love can you give to someone today? Is your lifestyle representing Jesus in a positive manner with your deeds?
FURTHER READING:
1 John 2:1; Ezekiel 33:31; Romans 12:9
* Charles Swindoll, Improving Your Serve (Waco: Word, 1981), pp. 52-53.