Love: Action and Emotion

In Exodus 20, the 10 commandments challenge the way we think about loving God and loving others. These commands actually form the vision for our parish at Clarence South Anglican; that we would be a church that loves God, loves His church, and loves our neighbour.

But when we think about love, people can treat it as either an emotion, or an action. Love is certainly tied to our emotions; it must involve our heart. Biblical love however is also action; we must live out our love. We can’t simply wish people well and do nothing for them, but show God’s love to them in tangible ways. Love must be both emotion and action.

This means we can’t serve God but be cold to Him in our hearts, that would make us Pharisees. Neither can we just come to God as our friend, to receive His love. Obedience is to characterize our relationship with God. We can’t just come to church for an experience, to feel love for God but deny Him service and obedience. Our love for each other and our neighbour must include genuine affection and compassion for each other, rather than just carrying out the duties of church.

So: how is our love for God, the church and our neighbour going?