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Is this commandment written in my heart:
“That he who loves God loves others also”?
Each of us has our own faith journey and our own experiences and understandings of how we show God that we love God. While our relationship with God may be private, held between you and God, the way we live our lives is a reflection of how we love God and how we aspire to love our neighbors.
In “The Almost Christian,” John Wesley lays out the truth that someone can be moral, ethical, and loving without professing a faith. A person who is not a Christian and who is kind, generous, and thoughtful is not necessarily a depraved, immoral heathen. Along the same lines, a Christian who has a surface-level faith—kind, generous, engages in a couple of surface spiritual disciplines—is not an evil person either. But John Wesley’s writings encourage the Christian to have depth to his or her faith and to have a deep thread of love toward God, a depth of knowledge and experience of how God loves each of us, and a substantial, meaningful love of others.
Doing the right thing matters. Caring for others and showing love for them are good things. Showing love to others can take a multitude of forms: acts of service, uplifting words, a helping hand. But Wesley reminds us that no matter how we end up showing love to others, our mind-set, our motivations, and our intentions matter. That’s why the commandment to love others must be written on the heart. When it comes to loving others, it is good to “do the right thing.” But it is best if we engage in loving activities from a heart of love—so that our actions are an expression of the love for others that’s written in our hearts.
In this season of your life, do you struggle with loving others? You may find it to be second nature to be polite, gracious, and kind to others. You may even engage in some acts of service around the Advent and Christmas season, like giving to the food pantry, participating in a gift exchange in the office, or hosting a neighborhood party. Are you taking on these actions out of obligation or as a way to genuinely love your neighbor? Are these habits without meaning? Or are they a reflection of how you strive to love and care for others?
We are not called to overextend ourselves in order to demonstrate love for others. But a Wesleyan understanding of love means that when we do engage in acts of love for others, our motivations matter. In this season of caretaking, celebration, worship, and gatherings around the table, consider how you want to show love to others.
Showing love to others doesn’t have to be overly complicated. In the Advent and Christmas narratives in the New Testament, love for others was shown in simple ways—Elizabeth opening up her home to Mary, the angel reassuring the terrified shepherds of their safety, Mary whispering truth and love to her newborn child.
Where is God inviting you to show love to others? What acts of love in the New Testament resonate with you? Who is in your day-to-day circle that would be receiving your acts of love? Consider where the Holy Spirit is nudging you to move from simply loving God to loving your neighbor as well.
Rev. April Casperson