Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
1 John 3:18
The First Letter of John challenges us to love. In the verse above, John says that it is not enough to love in word or speech but that love must translate into deeds and actions. Love doesn’t just make promises and express warm feelings, love works. Love serves. Love rolls us up its sleeves and gets to work because actions speak louder than words.
John compares and contrasts words and speech with deed and truth. We would have expected him to say something like “Let us not love with words and speech but with deeds and actions.” Instead he contrasts “words and speech” with “deeds and truth.” John is underscoring that for love to be real and true it must be practical.
Pray today for the grace to put love in action.