L-O-V-E spells ACTION

Article by Billie Miller

“It is possible to give to people without Loving them. But it’s impossible to Love people without giving to them.”

Billie Miller “The Motivational Minister.”

What would you like to drink?”asked the waitress with a smile.

I responded, “I would like lemonade.” 

I was eating dinner at my favorite restaurant with some of my family members. As we were talking, I noticed that it was taking the waitress a long time to bring our drinks. I was patient though, because I used to work in a restaurant. I could see that they were very busy. The waitress came back with the drinks, still smiling, she said, “Praise the Lord. Here are your drinks. Sorry for the delay.”  Then all of a sudden, God began to speak to my heart. I could hear Him just as clearly as I heard my family talking. God said, “Give the waitress all of your money that you have with you.”  I didn’t understand why, because there were no physical signs that the waitress needed money. She didn’t give any evidence of desperation or despair. But I knew this was God’s voice. So I gathered all of my money and counted it. As I was going through my wallet, I noticed that I had this small card that read:

“YOU’RE NEVER ALONE”—“Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I Am.’” Isaiah 58:9”

God said to me, “Give her the card as well.”  After we were finished eating I told my family that I would leave the tip. I didn’t want to leave such a large amount on the table, so I decided that I would hand it to the waitress as we left. As we walked passed her I placed the money and the card in her hand and said, “You have a blessed day.”  She responded, “You have a blessed day as well.”  She hadn’t noticed the amount yet or read the card. By the time that we got to the exit door, the waitress came running and yelling to get my attention. She had tears running down her face. “Thank you so very much. My house just burned down a couple of days ago and I had been very discouraged. I prayed to God about it, but I was losing faith. I know that this is from God…” Praise the Lord! This experience restored her faith in God. It also confirmed that I truly heard from Him. If I hadn’t obeyed, we both could have missed God. I witnessed God’s goodness through my obedience. She witnessed God’s Love through my actions.

LET ME GIVE YOU A DEMONSTRATION

“But God demonstrates His own Love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8

God demonstrated His unconditional Love towards us. The word “demonstrate” means to prove or show clearly by evidence. It also means an outward expression or public display. Love is not true Love until it is proven. True Love is a public display that can be easily seen by others. What was God’s visible proof of His Love for you? He gave His Son to die for you. He gave His Son, while you were still a sinner not deserving anything. God’s outward expression was His Gift. His public display was giving His Son. In other words, giving is an expression of Love. Giving is visible proof of your Love. You demonstrate your Love by giving to others. Say this aloud, “Love gives.”

“For God so Loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

Notice in the above Scripture that God Loved and God gave. Love gives. If you increase your Love, then you’ll increase your giving. The more that your Love grows—the more that your giving grows. If you have the greatest Love, then you’ll have the greatest gift. Is your Love greater than the Love of God? Of course not! He invented Love. God is Love. Therefore, He has the greatest Gift—Jesus Christ. What greater gift have you received other than Jesus Christ? If you have no Love, then you will not give at all. The devil doesn’t Love you. As a matter of fact he hates you. Therefore, he will not give you anything. Actually he tries to take from you.

“A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”  John 10:10 MSG

Jesus dying for us is evidence of God’s Love. You received that Love and now you’re the righteousness of God.

YOUR TURN TO LOVE

“This is how we know what real Love is: Jesus gave His life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 

1 John 3:16 NCV

Now that you’re the righteousness of God, you should Love others like God has Loved you. Pour into others as God has poured into you. As you’re reading this, you now you know what real Love is. You know the evidence of His Love. Now it’s time for you to demonstrate this Love to others. It’s time for you to put the Love of God that’s inside of you on public display. Like God, let giving be your outward expression of Love. It’s time to prove your Love.

“But if anyone has this world’s goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the Love of God live and remain in him?”  1 John 3:17 AMP

The previous Scripture is revealing that you can’t have the Love of God and not give. Giving is the evidence that you have the Love of God inside of you. The word “give” is a relative term, meaning that it’s relevant or significant to the matter at hand. In other words, you can give money. You can give encouragement. You can give time. You can give gifts. But most importantly, you can give the greatest Gift that God gave—Jesus. You can give the Word. When you give the Word to someone and it changes his or her life – this is a demonstration of the greatest Love. 

“My children, we must not only talk about Loving people; we must show we Love people by what we do for them. We must really Love them. And this is how we will know that we are true. This is why we will not be afraid in front of God.”  1 John 3:18-19 WE

Put your Love to action. This is what the righteous do. This is how we operate. The successful Christians of our history were not great because of what they gained. They were great because of what they gave.

BILLIE MILLER “The Motivational Minister” is a Bible teacher, speaker, and the #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of “Life in Righteousness: The Word is Your Life” and “30 Days of Righteousness: The Word is Your Life Action Plan”. Thousands of lives have been changed through Billie’s powerful teachings. For more information please visit www.BillieMiller.com. Follow Billie on twitter (@BillieMiller7) and on facebook (BillieMillerPage).