Actions Speak Louder than Words

My friend and I were watching a show the other night, and in it, a mother was crying to her son. She said things like, "I understand if you hate me, but I will always love you." The boy was leaving. He'd had enough of her abuse and neglect. She might have the words and emotions down, but her actions betrayed her. If she truly loved him, she would stop abusing him. She would get her boy out of their situation.
Ever heard the express, "Actions speak louder than words?"

Last Sunday night, my pastor did an amazing sermon on James 2:14-26. These verses tell us that faith without works is dead. That you can't just think, feel and say faith, you must put it into action. I believe the same thing applies to love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, we receive a long list of what love is: patient; kind; not jealous, boastful, proud or rude; selfless; slow to anger; keeps no record of wrong; rejoices in truth; always trusts. Can we be patient or kind without action? NO. Love is action and/or restraint of action (sometimes patience means biting your tongue). It's not enough to just say it or feel it. The warm, fuzzy sensation I have for my husband is wonderful, but unless it inspires me to give him a hug or do his laundry, it's empty emotion. Jesus said that if we love him, we'll obey his commandments (John 14:15). He excepts our deeds to reflect our love. We can't claim to love Jesus while we steal or lie or covet or do any of the sins we commit as fallible humans. Even when the feelings aren't there, we are still instructed to act in love. Love goes beyond sentiment. Love is choice.
The harsh truth is that in the moments we sin or do something unkind to our loved ones, we are not loving them at all. We are loving something else more--usually ourselves. That's why the Bible instructs us to put others before ourselves (Romans 12:10). We simply can't achieve love without this vital ingredient. It'd be like forgetting the sugar in cookie batter. Yuck!
When we love God with all of ourselves, God's love will shine through us for others. How do we love God? We must love others. See? It's a beautiful circle. Yes, our own selfish ambitions and issues will get in the way sometimes. That's what forgiveness is for. It's God loving us. Notice I didn't say back. God loved us first, not back (1 John 4:19). We respond to him by loving back. Think about how Jesus loves us. He didn't say, "You know guys, I have this warm, fuzzy feeling right here. (points to heart) But you know what? I don't think I'm going to do any healings today. And that dying-on-the-cross thing? Not my cup of tea." No, he washed his disciples feet. He hung on a cross and took the punishment for every selfish turn we take. He acted, and we should too.