1 John 3:11-24

Be still: Take a few moments to set aside the future and the past, and focus on being here, now. It might help to light a candle for these few minutes, to remind ourselves of the Light of the World?

Read: 1 John 3:11-24

‘For this is the original message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.’ (v11)

Encounter: The Head of my secondary school was a well-known leader in the teaching of English. That suited me well because English was my best subject, mainly because of all the books my mother would borrow from the travelling library on its fortnightly visits. All that reading must have soaked in! That didn’t mean we weren’t taught memorable things – I still remember seeing a blackboard (it was a long time ago…) with IT’S = IT IS written in chalk letters three feet high. I’ve been an apostrophe nerd ever since!

One of the things I remember was the meaning of ‘abstract’ nouns and verbs. These define things that you can’t see, weigh or measure – like beauty, joy, or peace – which are nevertheless very important to us. (It’s interesting that the words in Paul’s list of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 are essentially all abstract – check it out!)

And perhaps the most important abstract word of all is today’s theme from 1 John – love. You can’t weigh love on your scales, take its temperature with your thermometer, see what colour it is. But as I once said in a talk, ‘You can’t see love, but you can see what it does’. Love may be an abstract noun, but it’s an active verb! Love is insubstantial, invisible, weightless – until you (to coin a phrase) JUST DO IT! 

Apply: Today can I begin a list of things, however small, that I can do to 'DO' love? A gift, a phone call, a visit, a kind word, or simply a random act of kindness. A prayer for healing. A reconnection with a neglected friend or relative. A word of encouragement to a church leader. An offer to share someone’s load or burden. A sign-up to volunteering…

Devote: Lord, please show me how to 'do' love!