Sermon Illustrations

There’s no reason we can’t set out to show love in everything we do. Now, notice that I did not say “feel” love. If you and I wait until we feel love for others, we will wind up loving only those who make us feel loved. I did not say that we are to feel love but rather that we are to show love. Paul did not say that love is patience. He said that it is patient. We may not be naturally possessed of patience, but we can be patient in a given circumstance. In the same way, Paul did not say that love is kindness; he said it is kind. What’s the difference. Kindness is a state of being, and it’s wonderful when kindness fills our hearts. But what if, when someone needs us to be kind to them, we don’t happen to feel like it, at least not at the moment. Or what if, to our way of thinking, they don’t deserve our kindness? Love, you see, has nothing whatsoever to do with merit. Merit has to do with justice; you get what you deserve. But love has to do with grace and mercy; you get what you need.