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See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

1 John 3:1 (New Living Translation)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 (New International Version)

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

1 John 3:1 (The Message)

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

1 Peter 3:8 (New Living Translation)

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.

1 Peter 3:8 (New King James Version)

Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.

1 Peter 3:8 (The Message)

Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it.
Love makes up for practically anything.

1 Peter 4:8 (The Message)

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

1 Peter 4:8 (New King James Version)

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 (New Living Translation)

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other;
let us show the truth by our actions.

1 John 3:18 (New Living Translation)

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:18 (New International Version)

My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.

1 John 3:18 (The Message)

by Rick Warren

Love is something you do. Do you really love someone? Let’s see how you act toward that person. You show love by what you do, not just by what you feel.

Love is more than attraction and more than arousal. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. By this standard, is love dead when the emotion is gone? No, not at all. Because love is an action; love is a behavior.

Over and over again, in the Bible, God commands us to love each other. And you can’t command an emotion. If I told you “Be sad!” right now, you couldn’t be sad on cue. Just like an actor, you can fake it, but you’re not wired for your emotions to change on command. Have you ever told a little kid, “Be happy!” I’m trying, daddy!

If love were just an emotion, then God couldn’t command it. But love is something you do. It can produce emotion, but love is an action.

The Bible says, “Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions” (1 John 3:18 NLT). We can talk a good act: “I love people.” But do we really love them? Do you really love them? Our love is revealed in how we act toward them.