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LOVE IN DEED AND TRUTH
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29
1 John 3:18-19
2 Corinthians 5:11-15
 
“For the love of Christ
constraineth us …”
 
LOVE IN DEED AND TRUTH
 
The love that John stressed here was simply love with sincerity. It is this kind of love that Paul described in 1 Corinthians 13: “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” Charity is another word for love. The Apostle John said that we must not just love in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
 
Jesus spoke of the need to love our enemies. The real test comes to Christians when they have to be a testimony to the world around them. One example is when we go for evangelism and we experience much rejection in our outreach. A teacher told a story of a woman evangelist. (I have repeated this story several times because it illustrates clearly what it means to love even your enemies.) This lady handed out a gospel tract to a man seated in the car. He did not only reject the tract but spat on her face. The woman turned aside, took her handkerchief and wiped her face. She again turned to the man and said to him that the enemies of Jesus did the same thing to Him. The man was touched and was responsive and eventually became a believer.
 
The truth that John was talking about is the gospel of Christ. It is a message of salvation and God’s eternal plan for sinners. Jesus came to seek and to save sinners but they have to be told what Jesus has done for them. John added that when we know the truth we “shall assure our hearts before him” (1 John 3:19). The religions of the world to some extent teach good morals, but they do not know the Saviour who gave His life for sinners and who is the only way to God the Father. He is the truth and giver of life. Christians have a duty to tell the world the good news of salvation in love.
 
THOUGHT: Love in deed and truth leads a sinner to salvation.
PRAYER: Lord, let me love even my enemies in deed and in truth.

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