Someone once asked Jesus, “Master what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like the first, love your neighbor as yourself.” (paraphrased Matt 22:36-39) The most important thing we can do is to love God and our neighbors, but what does it mean ‘to love’?

In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Jesus equated love with action. If I love my wife, I’ll do things for her. Simply saying I love her isn’t enough. My actions are needed to prove my statement.

I say I love my wife, and I say I love ice cream. Same word, drastically different meanings. The type of love I have for my wife is shown by my actions. If I do nothing for her, it would be hard to discern between my love for her and my love for ice cream. It’s my actions that show the depth of love I have for my wife.

The same is true of my relationship with God. If I say ‘Christ is my lord’ but don’t strive to follow His commandments, then my statement is no more significant than my love is for ice cream. But if I follow His commandments, my actions will show the depth of my love for the Lord. Without actions to back them up, words are hollow.

As the old saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words,’ and that’s certainly true when it comes to love. As the Contemporary Bible puts it, “Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it.” (James 1:22) We are commanded by God to love. What actions have you taken recently to show God you love Him?