Curious Christian

When I read 1 John 3:16-18, I can’t help but pause and reflect on what real love looks like. John makes it clear: love isn’t just something we say—it’s something we do. Jesus showed us that when he laid down his life for us, and if I truly follow him, I’m called to love in the same way. That’s a heavy thought. Do I really love others like that? Do I see the needs around me and respond, or do I just feel bad for people and move on?

John asks a tough question: If I have what someone needs and do nothing, can I really say God’s love is in me? That hits hard. It’s easy to talk about love, to say I care, to throw out a “praying for you” without ever actually doing something to help. But John doesn’t leave any room for that—he says love has to be more than words. It has to be real, practical, sacrificial.

And this reminds me a lot of what James says. In James 2:14-17, he challenges me in the same way: What good is my faith if it doesn’t show up in my actions? If I see someone struggling—hungry, hurting, in need—and all I do is offer empty words, what good is that? James doesn’t sugarcoat it: faith without works is dead. Just like love without action is empty.

I think about how often I get caught up in my own life, my own problems, my own comfort. But both John and James push me to look beyond myself. They remind me that real faith, real love, requires something of me. It means stepping in when someone is in need. It means being willing to sacrifice—my time, my resources, my comfort—for the sake of others.

And that makes me wonder: Am I really living this out? Am I showing love the way Jesus did? Or am I just talking about it? Because at the end of the day, love isn’t a feeling. It’s not just words. It’s action. And if I truly want to follow Jesus, that has to be in the way I live.