More Than a Feeling: Love in Action

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what it really means to love others as a follower of Christ?

In a world that celebrates self-love and easy relationships, Jesus calls us to something radically different. He doesn’t just want us to feel love—He calls us to live love, even when it’s hard, even when we don’t feel like it, and yes, even toward those who hurt us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked a piercing question that still challenges us today:

"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:46)

He goes even further though, commanding us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who mistreat us. (Matthew 5:43-45, Luke 6:27-31)

That kind of love isn’t natural. It’s supernatural. It’s not a warm, fuzzy feeling—it’s a deliberate choice and an act of the will, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s be real for a moment.

Do you always feel loving toward your spouse when they’ve disappointed you? Toward your children when they’re pushing every button? Toward that difficult coworker or the family member who seems to bring nothing but drama?

If we’re honest, loving the people closest to us can be tough enough. So how are we supposed to love people we don’t even like—let alone those we might consider enemies?

The truth is, apart from God, it’s impossible.

We still carry around the old nature, “the flesh,” even after we’re born again. That self-centered part of us fights against Christ’s command every single day.

But here’s the good news: we don’t have to manufacture this love on our own strength.

1. Start with Prayer

The Christian life always begins at the feet of Jesus. Pray without ceasing, as Paul urges us (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Bring your struggles, your cold heart, your irritation, and your weakness to Him.

Ask the Lord to transform you from the inside out. Pray that He would help you see people through His eyes. Ask Him to put to death the selfish attitudes and reactions that rise up so quickly in you.

It probably won't be an immediate change but that's ok. Being changed by God is a lifelong process. Just remember, He delights in making us more like His Son.

2. Live It Out—Even Before You Feel It

Sometimes obedience comes before the feelings change. And that’s okay.

It’s not always easy, but it’s rarely complicated: choose kind words instead of harsh ones, do a small act of service when you’d rather do nothing, or offer forgiveness even when it feels undeserved. These simple, daily choices put the love of Christ on display and set us apart from the world.

Jesus illustrated this kind of active, costly love perfectly in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho is robbed, beaten, and left half dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite—religious men who knew the law—both see him but pass by on the other side. Then a Samaritan comes along.

In Jesus’ day, Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies. Yet this Samaritan stops, has compassion, bandages the man’s wounds, puts him on his own donkey, takes him to an inn, cares for him overnight, and even pays the innkeeper to continue looking after him—with a promise to cover any extra cost.

When Jesus asked which of the three was a neighbor to the injured man, the expert in the law had to admit: “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus simply replied, “Go and do likewise.”

That’s love in action. It crosses enemy lines. It costs time, money, and convenience. And it doesn’t wait until the heart feels warm and fuzzy first.

As Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Scripture is filled with powerful truths that show us what this love looks like in practice:

We love because He first loved us. Every act of love we show is ultimately a reflection of the love we’ve received from the Father through Christ.

Jesus taught that we recognize a tree by the fruit it produces (Matthew 7:17-18).

In the same way, the world recognizes true followers of Christ not by our words alone, but by our actions and attitudes—especially how we treat others, including those who are hard to love.

Loving others the way Jesus commands won’t happen overnight, and it won’t happen in our own power. But as we surrender daily to the Holy Spirit, pray for His transforming work, and step out in obedient love—even when we don’t feel like it—something beautiful happens.

We become more like Jesus. And the world gets a glimpse of the real thing.

What about you?

Is there a relationship right now—maybe even with someone who feels more like an “enemy” or outsider—where God is calling you to love in action instead of waiting for the feeling?

Take it to Him in prayer today, then look for one small way to live it out, just like the Good Samaritan did.

In His Grace,

Jeremiah