Love in Action

I had the opportunity to go over a transcript of our church's last Sunday message. I got an except from Pastor Peter's sermon.

Credits:Http://ccf.org.ph

Love is Action; Jesus in Action Pastor Peter Tan-chi July 5, 2009 John 4:13-16 “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” Believers, be careful and do not be judgmental. Look at this woman. This woman was an adulteress but Jesus never said to her, “You must be born again.” The approach was different. Jesus used water because He is very gentle. But when it’s time to be tough, He is tough. Different folks, different strokes. You need to learn that we are all not the same. My language of love is different from your language of love. I have been with my wife for 36 years and I realize that her language of love is different from mine. Her language of love is ‘words’ or ‘affirmation’. When I say something negative it affects her. But because I love my wife I am willing to change. I remember a girl who had a temper problem. When she speaks, it is as though she is shouting. She likes to raise her voice when she disagrees with something. There are indeed people like that but I praise God for her attitude. She would always ask, “Is that how I come across?” Some people never change. They would say, “That is how I am. Ganyan talaga ako. Take me or leave me. That is your problem!” I realize if you practice Christian love but do not know how to communicate it that is your problem. You cannot blame others for not understanding you. The truth is they will not understand you. You’ve got to understand others. Some parents say, “I have three children. How is it possible that the first one loves me while the other two don’t?” Can I tell you something? Maybe it is so because these parents do not treat the children the same way. You must love all of them equally but using different strokes. Learn to adapt. In my case, I have five children and I needed to learn to adapt. I made sure all of them experience and understand my love. Ladies and gentlemen, if you tell somebody you love him or her but he or she does not experience your love it is useless. The Bible tells us to love our neighbor. Ask your neighbor, “Do you know I love you?” Do you know what your neighbor will say? “Show me!” (PTC)