Love Is an Action

[Love Is an Action]( Current Teaching Series [40 Days of Love]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Love Is an Action]( By Rick Warren — 09/24/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5 (ESV) Love is an action, not just an emotion. Love is something you do. It’s easy to love somebody who loves you, isn’t it? It takes nothing at all. But real love acts and does the loving thing when people don’t deserve it, when they don’t respond to it, or when you don’t feel it. In fact, acting in love when you don’t feel it is the highest form of love. It’s a more mature love when you act loving toward a person who does not respond the same way. Have you noticed that it’s easier to act your way into a feeling than it is to feel your way into an action? Some of you have been married for a long time, and the truth is, the flame has gone out. The thrill is gone. You’re living separate lives in the same house. How do you rekindle that romance? How do you rekindle the feeling of love? You act your way into a feeling. You may say, “I don’t feel like acting loving toward my spouse.” So what? If you start acting in love, I guarantee you the feelings will follow—because feelings follow behavior. In Revelation 2:4-5, Jesus says to the church, “You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (ESV). What Jesus told the church is the same principle for renewing the love in a marriage or any other relationship. You remember, you repent, and you do the things you did at first. The reason the love went away is you stopped doing the things that created the love in the early days. God doesn’t want you living by your feelings. He wants you living by faith. So you know what he does? Sometimes he lets the feelings go away. Then you have to live by faith and love by faith. When you love somebody and do the loving thing, even when they’re not responding and even maybe when they’re retaliating, you are loving by faith. That is an action. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - How do you show your love to the people around you through actions? - What unloving person around you needs to see your love demonstrated to them through action? - What “works you did at first” do you need to revive to help grow a relationship? The post [Love Is an Action]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the 40 Days of Love Study Kit when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( God wants you to know how deeply loved you are—and to let that love lead your life decisions! Learn how with Pastor Rick’s 40 Days of Love Bible Study, our thanks for your gift to reach more people around the world with the message of God’s love through Daily Hope. In this six-session video study with companion workbook, Pastor Rick shares practical, Christ-centered teaching to help you authentically love God and love your neighbor. By focusing on patience, kindness, truth, and forgiveness, you’ll discover how to let God’s love lead you into the full life he has for you! [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series 40 Days of Love. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: It's All About Love Message 2: Love Matters Most Message 3: Loving Like Jesus Loves Me Message 4: Love Lets It Go Message 5: Love is Not Easily Angered Message 6: The Secrets of Lasting Love [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. 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